Duel Masters: Rise of the chosen duelists
by acumashindorballomu
Summary: A week after the final battle in Duel Masters of the Future, we find the surviving Subaru and Tsugumi having a hard time due to the deaths of their teammates. Still, new chosen duelists must be found as replacements, for a new threat is about to come.
1. Scars of the Past

It was a cloudy November day. Even though the wind didn't blow, the cold air, darkened sky and leafless trees reminded everyone that winter was approaching. Upon a certain city from a certain prosperous country in the year of 2101, it seemed that life was finally backed to normal. The city had had to endure two attacks from giant supernatural monsters from another world in the same year, but no matter what happened, once the attacks were over the capital would send them help to rebuild their giant high tech buildings and streets and things would just be alright once again.

At the yard of a school located in the center of the city, the long awaited break had finally come. The younger students were all sitting at tables and playing cards. What they were playing wasn't Poker or some other betting game; they were playing a trading card game that was known as Duel Masters.

The game was rather simple – it required a 40 card deck, a dueling table (or in certain cases two dueling tables), some strategic planning and a bit of luck. The dueling table had two black lines which were separating the so called 'zones'. Behind the first black line was the mana zone. Between the two black lines was the shield zone, but they were set on the left and middle parts of the zone, for the right part of that zone was destined for the deck and the graveyard. And finally, passing the second black line was the battle zone. A normal dueling table had both sides shaped like this and the middle of the table was the largest part, the huge battle zone where the match actually took place.

To begin a duel, one has to shuffle their deck, put the top 5 cards of it face down on the shield zone, draw 5 cards and shout 'duel start!'. In order to win, one must manage to break all of their opponent's shields and then give a direct attack with a creature. In order to summon creatures, one must have enough cards in their mana zone. And thus the game gets more and more complex and fun. However, the children playing in the schoolyard would soon find out that what they were playing was more than a game.

"I summon Twin-Cannon Skyterror!" a blonde 11 year old boy said while putting a red card which resembled a reddish orange dragon with two cannon on its shoulders on the battle zone. "Twin-Cannon has speed attacker, so it attacks right when it is put in the battle zone. Go, Twin-Cannon Skyterror, break his final shields!"

His opponent took the two cards from his shield zone into his hand.

"Nice try, but you see Johnny, since you have no more shields, you already lost." the opponent, a brown haired 12 year old, replied. "I summon Polligon, Adventure Faerie!"

"Haha, how can that weakling help you win?"

"I also evolve Polligon into Startdash Buster, Divine Hero Mech!" the boy continued and put on his green card a rainbow colored card that pictured a green armored humanoid wielding huge guns. "And since evolution creatures also don't have summoning sickness, I finish you off with Startdash Buster, todomeda!"

"Aw, no fair, Chad, I lost again!" the blonde complained.

"That's because I'm the best duelist of Hakuoh-sama's class, and none of you should ever doubt it!" the victor spoke full of himself.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" a third boy intervened.

The duo turned their heads and saw a 10 year old boy with dark red hair that was raised up to make it seem like a flame. He had green eyes, wore a white martial arts kimono and on his face was the excited smile of a kid that had just been introduced to dueling.

"Oh look, it's that brat Tamma." Johnny mockingly spoke. "What do you want, kid? Go back and play with your other 10 year olds in the dirt and leave us pros duel!"

"One day I'll show you what I can really do and then you'll be sorry!" Tamma threatened.

"Well then, let's see how good you really are, hot shot!" Chad said and showed his deck to Tamma. "With that pathetic fire and darkness deck of yours, you shouldn't be that hard to beat."

Tamma took that as a challenge which he gladly accepted. But the young duelists were unaware that a few feet away from them, at the opened schoolyard gates, a strange figure dressed in a short-sleeved black T-shirt and dark blue jeans was walking by and had heard their little discussion. The stranger got interested and stopped from his way to watch the duel.

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said after tapping the two cards in his mana zone.

"I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage!" Chad said. "Taiga has speed attacker, so I now break one of your shields with it!"

Chad's card fired a wave that pushed one of Tamma's shields up in the air, but the boy quickly grabbed the card. It seemed that things were starting to get interesting for him. Tamma drew, charged mana and then put a black card on his battle zone while saying:

"I summon Heehaw, Catterpillar Rider! Vorg, attack Taiga!"

Tamma tapped his multicolored card and a wave came out of it that hit Chad's card and pushed it in the air as well.

"Interesting, I didn't know that someone like you had managed to discover their dueling powers." Chad surprisingly complimented young Tamma. "Still, that won't make this match yours! I summon Pyrofighter Magnus, go and break his shield!"

Another shield of Tamma's was blown in the air and the boy happily took it in his hand.

"That stupid smile will wear off pretty soon!" Chad assured Tamma and then took his Magnus card back into his hand. "Pyrofighter Magnus is not only a speed attacker, but it also returns to my hand at the end of my turn, making it unreachable to your creatures."

"Haha, it's cool, but not really that impressive." Tamma innocently laughed.

"What did you just say?" Chad shouted with indignation. "Let's see you pull something better, you showoff!"

"My pleasure, I evolve Heehaw into Wrath of God! Valborg Now!"

Tamma placed a red card on the black one, this new one shining with a rather bright red light. For a moment, a shadow of what seemed to be a mechanical being appeared behind Tamma, but quickly faded.

"Go, Valborg Now and Vorg, break his shields!" Tamma ordered and Chad watched amazed how 3 of his shields went down quickly.

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare!" Chad said after showing to his opponent a card that was in his shields. "Send Valborg Now to his mana zone! Don't you think that you've won yet, pal! I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and the top card of my deck goes into my mana zone. Afterwards I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage! Go break his shield, Taiga!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper!" Tamma exclaimed enthusiastically and showed the spell card to his opponent.

Chad stared with shock at how the card shined with another bright red light and made his two creature cards pop into the air and land in his graveyard.

"I've got you now!" Tamma said and then he turned to the other kids to have them see how great he is.

However, while looking around, Tamma saw the strange figure sitting at the entrance gates of the schoolyard and was amazed. The boy wore the darkness civilization symbol, a mask with 4 horns, on his black T shirt. Also, his black hair was pretty big for a male, the hair on the back reaching his shoulders. His eyes were brown and their stare was rather mysterious. As for the age, he was around 18.

Tamma's eyes widened with amazement and in his mind there was only one single phrase was being repeated:

"It's him!"

However, Tamma was soon brought to reality by a rather annoyed Chad:

"Come on, do your turn already! I don't want to waste my time with noobs like you!"

"Fine, but you asked for it!" Tamma replied and then placed another multicolored card on the one that was already in his battle zone. "I evolve Vorg, Brawler of Hell into Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!"

All of a sudden, a bright purple beam came out of the card and rose into the sky. Everyone else's attention turned to their duel. The dueling table broke in two and the halves moved at a significant distance from each other. Tamma's last two shields and Chad's last two shields materialized as blue rectangles. Also, behind Tamma appeared a giant humanoid dressed in a thick red armor. The humanoid was wielding black cannons and had a purple X on its chest.

"Impossible! You just… turned our duel into a kaijudo duel!" Chad exclaimed with fear.

"I did? Wow, it's so awesome!" Tamma cheered happily.

"No, it's not awesome; people can actually get hurt in this kind of game!" Johnny tried to intervene.

"Details, details… Ogre Beater, break his final shields!" Tamma ordered.

The creature aimed for Chad's last shields and fired powerful lasers from its cannons, taking both down. Chad took cover and the shield shards hit him. When the attack was over, the shield shards united into two cards which went into Chad's hand. Unfortunately for him, in his hand there were only weak speed attackers and 1 cost creatures. Nothing he could throw at Tamma could help him win the game or destroy that 7000 powered creature of his.

"Alright, alright, I admit it - you're a much better duelist!" Chad pathetically wept while falling on his knees. "Whatever you do, please don't hurt me!"

Thus the shields and creatures disappeared, meaning that the duel had ended. The whole crowd in the schoolyard cheered the victorious Tamma, for most of the youngsters had had enough of Chad's arrogance and felt that it was high time somebody taught him a lesson.

But Tamma didn't care for their cheers. He turned his head to the gates and saw that the raven haired figure laughed and then walked away.

"No, he can't go!" Tamma exclaimed, and then packed up his cards quickly.

"Huh? Who are you talking about?" a random boy asked.

"Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist, one of my idols." Tamma explained and then ran away while putting his deck in the kimono's pockets.

"Subaru Geki? Isn't that the chosen duelist freak that used darkness cards?" a voice was heard from the group.

"Yeah, and I think that I saw him riding on a Volg Tiger while the city was being destroyed recently." another voice spoke.

"What's wrong with Tamma? Why would he be going after a crazy bastard like that Subaru in the first place?" a third voice asked.

Tamma ignored all the mean things that were said about the person he idolized and quickly rushed out of the schoolyard. He looked around and for a moment taught that Subaru was gone. However, he managed to spot him entering a nearby hospital. Determined to not lose him, Tamma ran in the direction of the hospital, but he soon heard a girl's voice call out for him:

"Tamma, the break is almost over! Hakuoh-sama will be angry if you come late to his class!"

Tamma turned around and saw that the one calling him was a teenage blue haired girl dressed in a yellow pullover with stripes and a long blue skirt. Her blue hair was reaching her hips and her blue eyes were being covered by a pair of small glasses.

"Tell him that I got a problem and left home, Luna!" Tamma shouted back and then kept running.

In a few moments, Tamma crossed the street and managed to reach the hospital. Once inside, he had the luck of being ignored by the grown up doctors that were already busy with other cases. Still, there was no trace of Subaru anywhere. The red haired boy walked around the corridors, passing rooms in which he could hear sick people's moans of pain. A normal 10 year old would've been scared by that, but Tamma didn't pay attention, for he was concentrated on finding that strange boy.

Meanwhile, in one of the hospital rooms, a blonde teenage girl with crystal blue eyes dressed in a red dress was sitting on a chair, near a bed where a brown haired boy of her age with bandages on was lying. Suddenly, she heard a door knock.

"Come in." she said.

The one that opened the door was Subaru. Upon seeing him, the girl's eyes got filled with tears and she threw herself in her arms while crying.

"How is he, Tsugumi?" Subaru asked her.

"It's awful! The doctors said they did their best, but…"

"But what?"

"Edo is paralyzed! 90% of his body can't move anymore, the only things that weren't affected being his vital organs!" Tsugumi wept.

"No…" the boy with rather long black hair murmured. "That means…"

"That he'll be a vegetable… for the rest of his days."

Subaru's eyes widened and tears began to fill them as well. The boy let go of Tsugumi and rushed to the bed where the paralyzed Edo was lying.

"Edo-kun, you can't… EDO-KUN!" Subaru screamed in pain and fell on his knees while letting the tears wet Edo's sheets.

Tsugumi sat back on her chair and wept as well. In a few moments, thanks to Subaru's scream, Tamma managed to find him, but he was amazed of what was going on in the room. Just as the red haired boy was trying to understand why someone as cool as Subaru was crying, a mysterious figure appeared right next to him. The person was wearing a red jacket, had red eyes and black hair that was long on the left side, but short on the right side.

"Step aside, kid, I got some business to discuss with the guys in this room." the strange person coldly spoke and then entered the room.

"Shubham, what are you doing here?" Tsugumi asked and got up from her chair.

"I've come to talk with Subaru. It seems that he's been through a lot lately." Shubham calmly answered and at the hearing of his voice Subaru stopped crying and got up on his feet. "Heh, how the mighty have fallen. Once you were the powerful chosen darkness duelist, but now you're nothing but a wimp."

"Shut up, you know nothing about me!" Subaru spoke straightly.

"Oh, is that so? Then do you at least have the guts to face me?" Shubham arrogantly asked and took out his glowing deck from his pockets.

Subaru stared at him angrily, though the sadness did not disappear from his eyes. He took out his deck and accepted Shubham's challenge. The two duelists walked outside the room and headed outside of the hotel. Tamma secretly followed them until they all reached a hill.

There Subaru and Shubham were sitting in front of each other without saying a word. Their decks glowed with bright purple auras and two dueling tables rose from the ground. The players put their decks on them, set their cards and with the shout of 'Duel start!' their ten shields rose in the air and their match had begun.

Tamma watched everything with amazement from behind a tree. It was the first time he had seen this kind of kaijudo duel. Never in his life would the boy expect to see decks glowing or dueling tables rising from the ground by just a shout. Also, he never expected to have a front row seat at one of his idol's kaijudo duels.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and a black haired teen dressed in a dark blue suit with a large red collar, two black skin gloves on his hands and a rose in his right hand and a pink lollipop in his right hand appeared right next to him.

"Let's see how I can fabulously help you today." Atsuto said, then drew two cards for Subaru, gave them to the chosen darkness duelist and looked in his hand. "I suggest you discard these."

"I agree." Subaru replied and discarded Aqua Naruto Surfer and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger.

"I summon Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess!" Shubham said and a red eyed blue ghostly princess appeared behind him. "With Bella's effect I reveal the top 2 cards from your deck and put one in your graveyard!"

The top cards of Subaru's deck were Cebu Aquman Jr and Inferno Sign.

"Heh, I send Inferno Sign to your grave." Shubham said with confidence.

"Not very fabulous." Atsuto commented.

"I don't care… I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!" Subaru said and discarded Hyperspatial Gallows Hole from Shubham's hand. "Atsuto, break his shield!"

Atsuto ran from his place to Shubham, then jumped in the air, made a kung fu move and took down with one of his hands. Then he calmly walked back to Subaru.

Tamma watched everything with amazement and then spoke to himself:

"Wow, now I'll never regret skipping Hakuoh-sama's class!"


	2. The Proof's will

The sound of a shield breaking resounded on the hill. Subaru backed down and let the shield shards pass next to him. Then the boy waited for the shield shards to stop and begin uniting into the card that once was in his shields. Once the card had been regenerated, Subaru showed it to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer!"

A blue humanoid riding a surfboard dashed through the air and appeared behind Subaru. The boy pointed as Shubham's Deis Melnia and the surfer dashed once again and hit the creature with its surfboard, making it disappear, its card going back to Shubham's hand.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru continued and a small white baby-like Alien with sharp teeth and an X instead of eyes appeared right next to him and grabbed the top 3 cards of his deck, those being Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Drilling Squito and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse, the creature giving all 3 to its master. "Now, Aqua Surfer and Atsuto, break his shields!"

Aqua Surfer dashed at Shubham's shields and then made an upside down spin and broke one of his shields. Afterwards, Atsuto jumped in the air and made another kung fu attack that took down another shield of Shubham's. However, the shards regenerated quickly and Shubham showed a card from his shields while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Two demonic black hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the small Alien, crushing it in a matter of seconds. Afterwards, Shubham drew a card, put another in his mana zone and then put two cards in his battle zone and continued:

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Zabi Fly, the Pillager! Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess, break another shield!"

The blue ghostly princess nodded to her master and jumped in the air, made an upside down 360 degree spin and when she fell, she used her high heeled shoes to break one of Subaru's shields. Bella jumped again and safely landed behind Shubham, between Maxval and Zabi Fly.

"I guess it's time to get serious!" Subaru spoke with a rather louder voice than before. "I cast Miracle Re Born! With this spell's effect I put Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger into the battle zone from my graveyard!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V materialized behind Subaru and roared loudly. The creature swung its swords and cut down all of Shubham's creatures. Then Liger Blade turned to Atsuto and hit him with the handle of one of its swords, making him fly away in the air. Then since Zabi Fly was destroyed, Shubham discarded a card from Subaru's hand, that being Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse.

"You wanted to get serious, I'll give you serious!" Shubham said with a small angry tone in his voice. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole! With its effect I give Aqua Surfer -2000 power and destroy it, and then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier into the battle zone!"

Subaru's Aqua Surfer blew up and then a hole appeared in the sky out of which descended a horned demon dressed in a golden armor, wielding two blue scythes, each with two blades, and riding a horned skeletal horse. The demon landed behind Shubham and was face to face with Subaru's Liger Blade.

"This guy means business, Subaru." Liger Blade suddenly spoke to its master.

"He surely does, Raion, but don't worry, I've got a plan." Subaru assured his creature that everything was alright.

"Hah, a plan? Let's see how you and that pathetic deck avatar of yours find a way to escape Ganveet's wrath!" Shubham mocked.

"It's easier done than said." Subaru confidently spoke and then placed Drilling Squito as his sixth mana card and tapped all the cards in his mana zone. "I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Black Ganveet!"

Shubham's eyes widened as a gate appeared in front of him. Its doors opened and many dark blue tentacles that ended in sharp teethed mouths came out and attacked Black Ganveet, devouring the demon. Afterwards the tentacles retreated and a purple ghost with orange eyes, mouth and X on its chest, having a horned skull on its head and wielding an orange skull staff came out of the gate. Then the doors closed and the gate disappeared.

"Then with Hades Death Gate's second effect I put Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse in the battle zone from my graveyard! Now show me two cards." Subaru said and Shubham, who had 3 cards in his hand, selected 2 and showed them to his opponent, the cards being Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff. "Huh? Since when did you use Hunters, Shubham?"

"Heh, ever since Kokujo told us to work together as a symbol that Aliens and Hunters have united. I don't know about you, but the thought of having some Hunters aid my Aliens is not a bad idea. Also, I've noticed that you've added Cebu Aquman Jr and Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons into your deck as well, Subaru. Nice idea of using Aliens as support for your Hunters!"

"Thanks, Shubham, but enough with the compliments, we've got a duel to finish!"

"Alright, go on, chosen darkness duelist!" Shubham's old cruel voice returned.

"I discard Zabi Implosion with Kitarou's effect. And now I attack your last shields with Liger Blade! Show him how it's done, Raion!"

Raion gave Shubham a lion's roar and rushed at his last shields, taking them down with both its swords. Shubham did not move for a second. He let the shield shards pass him and not even a single one of them hit him or scarred him. Once the shards united into two cards, he began his turn and drew his next card. After charging mana, he showed two cards to his opponent while saying:

"I summon two Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow! Heh, this should be enough to stall for time."

"I'm sorry, Shubham, but your stalling plan is over." Subaru confidently spoke.

"Say what?" Shubham asked with confusion.

"I cast Miracle Re Born! With its effect I revive… Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

A shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind Subaru and immediately attacked Shubham's Deis Melnias with its blades, making both disappear. Shubham once again stared with amazement at his opponent. He couldn't believe that someone like Subaru had managed to defeat him.

"Any last words, Shubham?" Subaru asked.

"Meh, I never expected to see a wimp like you defeat me in such a harsh way. I suppose you did earn my respect today." Shubham confessed with a friendly voice, but then his face became that of the menacing demon in the night from before. "However, don't think that this is the end. From this point on we are rivals, and next time we meet I will have my revenge!"

Shubham quickly packed his cards and jumped off the hill without saying another word. Even if Subaru did not give the finishing blow, the win was his.

The creatures slowly began to disappear and Subaru started packing up his deck and sighed in relief. But just as he was about to walk away, he heard a yell coming from behind him.

"YOU DID IT!" a joyous Tamma shouted and ran to him.

Subaru turned around and before he could realize what was going on, little Tamma accidentally hit him and both landed on the grassy ground.

"You were so awesome! All that discarding and reviving and destroying and bouncing, it was all so hardcore!" Tamma excitedly spoke.

"You're that kid from the schoolyard!" Subaru spoke with surprise.

"Oh my God, you remember me! That's even more awesome!"

"What was your name again? Tamma?" Subaru asked and the red haired boy nodded happily as response. "I must say that the duel you put up with that guy was neat. For a kid at your age, you surely have potential."

"I do? Wow, thank you so much!"

It seemed that Tamma was now in his personal heaven. He had escaped a boring class of Hakuoh's, had seen his idol put up an exciting duel and then had his idol compliment him. It was too good to be true.

"Listen, shouldn't you be going back to school?" Subaru woke Tamma from his dreams.

"Oh yeah, I got a boring class to attend. I guess I'll see you later then?" Tamma said and Subaru nodded and gave him a smile. "Awesome! See you around, Subaru!"

Tamma rushed down the hill with the same excitement with which he came. Subaru got up and took his hair off his eyes to see the little boy better. In his mind he did see great potential for a future kaijudo duelist in Tamma, but thought that he was maybe a little too impatient and fiery for such a great power.

And so another day had passed. Night had fallen once again upon the city, the dark clouds blocking any light of the moon or stars. Subaru knocked at the doors of what looked like a giant UFO. Its main door opened and Atsuto along with a boy that had tan skin, transition glasses which resembled sunglasses, and was wearing a white T-shirt, black vest and black jeans with white/silver/ black sneakers greeted him. He entered it and went straight to the hospital room where Tsugumi was sitting by the window and staring at the paralyzed Edo who was connected to machines that were feeding his body and helping him breathe. The saddened girl looked turned to Subaru and said:

"The doctors let us take him home. They said that unplugging Edo from these devices will be fatal to him."

"And there is no chance of bringing him back?" Subaru asked.

"None, they said that by human standards there is nothing that could make him a normal person again." Tsugumi answered.

"Edo-kun…"

Subaru stared at his friend sorrowfully and reflected upon the times they shared together. But then a blue light shined brightly in the pockets of Subaru's pants. The boy reached his hand and took out the Proof of Duelmaster.

"Tsugumi, chosen light duelist and Subaru, chosen darkness duelist, I wish to talk with you!" a voice came out of the Proof.

"Huh? Who… no, what are you?" Tsugumi asked.

"I am the artifact that you had fought so hard to protect. I am the Proof of Duelmaster!"

"This must be some kind of dream!" Subaru said and rubbed his eyes with his left hand, because he was holding the Proof in his right one.

"Do not worry, this is not a dream. I, the source of your chosen duelist status, now have come to warn you of a great threat." the Proof continued.

"What threat?" both asked in unison.

"A new enemy will soon rise from the shadows, for he was born in those shadows. He will try to find the place where an old enemy is hidden and will try to free him. You must find new chosen duelists, for only the power of the 5 civilizations will be the only thing capable of stopping this threat."

"Wait a minute, what enemy are you talking of?" Subaru asked, but the blue gem ceased shining and thus didn't respond anymore.

"You heard the Proof, Subaru. We have to find new chosen duelists so that our team can be complete once again."

"I object, Tsugumi! We can't find replacements for our own friends! What would Rad, Sora and Edo think if they saw they were dead and would simply be forgotten by us and be replaced by some newcomers?" Subaru protested.

"I'm afraid it is beyond us. It's the Proof's will." Tsugumi spoke obediently.

The next day, the pupils of Hakuoh's class were sitting in their seats, waiting for their teacher to come. Of course, there were some that made noise, for there is no perfect class. But once they heard footsteps and voices on the hallway, they all turned into nice little angels. In a few moments Hakuoh entered the classroom dressed in his regular white Italian suit and with his blonde hair in a ponytail. However, the two chosen duelists entered right after him and some small voices were heard in the class, mostly being bad talk about the chosen duelists, for even if they were the ones who had saved the world, a good part of the people saw them in league with the bad guys due to the fact that they were riding giant creatures during their recent battle with the forces of evil.

"Class, today I am proud to introduce you to two of the heroes which have saved our city on numerous occasions – Tsugumi Shirayama and Subaru Geki!"

There were rather mixed reactions in the class. Half of it were applauding and cheering the couple, but the other half were simply staring at them with mean eyes, almost as if they were about to attack them.

"Well, Tamma, your hero is here." the blue haired girl whose desk was in front of Tamma's said.

"Wow, he's actually in our class, this is gonna be so awesome, Luna!" Tamma replied to the girl.

"Says the boy who sleeps at most of Hakuoh-sama's classes." Luna laughed.

"Alright, class, I'm guessing you're wondering why these two chosen duelists are here today." Hakuoh's voice brought the silence back to the students. "As you probably know, a week ago, three of the five chosen duelists have fallen in their last battle against the forces of evil. So now the remaining chosen duelists are out to find new teammates."

"But teacher, why have they come to look for new chosen duelists from our class?" Johnny raised his hand while asking.

"Because they know that my class is one of the best out of this school… and that they'll find three worthy candidates out of your ranks."

"To pass this test is rather easy – all you have to do is defeat us." Tsugumi said and walked to the class's dueling table. "Alright, who is up first?"

"Tsugumi, before I let the whole class rush at you like maniacs, let me suggest that your first opponent be… that girl!" Hakuoh said and pointed to Luna who immediately blushed. "Luna is probably my best student. She knows dueling theory perfectly and so far has not lost a single duel in class."

"Why I am flattered, Hakuoh-sama, but I don't think that I should waste their time." Luna modestly spoke and got up from her seat. "I mean, I'm still learning and…"

"Hey Luna, what civilizations do you use?" Tsugumi interrupted her.

"Uh, water… with a little fire."

"So basically a water duelist." Tsugumi commented and turned to Hakuoh. "She's good to go."

Hakuoh nodded and made a gesture to Luna that told her to go and duel Tsugumi. The blue haired girl accepted in the end and walked shyly to the dueling table at which the blonde girl had already set up her cards. Subaru pushed himself against a wall and sat with his arms crossed while watching how Luna was setting her shields and then drawing five cards.

And thus their match had begun. Tsugumi agreed to let Luna start so that she could see what kind of duelist she was up against. After both charged mana in their first turns, Luna truly began the game by putting a card in her battle zone and said:

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow. With its effect I draw a card."

"Good start." Tsugumi complimented and then put a card in her battle zone as well. "I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation."

"I cast Energy Stream and draw 2 cards." Luna said and took the top two cards from her deck into her hand.

"I summon Endra Pappi."

"I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser. With its effect I destroy Gil Poser and Murmur. Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break her shield."

Tsugumi was surprised by what she was seeing. The dueling style was great, but Luna seemed a little shy even when she was dueling. Her voice was rather low and she looked like she was about to faint. If it was because she was nervous or because that was her style, Tsugumi didn't know yet. However, she was not going to back down or show her any special treatment. Tsugumi quickly showed the card that was in her shields and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Irohas, Spirit of Extinguishing! With Endra Pappi's effect, I draw a card. Now it's my turn, I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and draw another card thanks to Endra Pappi. Go, Irohas, destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow! Then Endra Pappi, break her shield!"

Luna shyly took cover as a wave came out of Tsugumi's card and hit one of her shields, throwing it in the air. Luckily for her, the card landed in her hand. The girl sighed with relief and then began her turn.

"I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole!" Luna said and her card began to glow with a bright red light. "With its effect I destroy Endra Pappi and put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!"

All of a sudden, a red robot with 3 heads, fire arms, and water throwers appeared behind Luna as a hologram and gazed upon the rest of the class, especially Tsugumi. The students were exclaiming in awe, for rarely they could see a kaijudo duel. However, Subaru was being both afraid and frustrated, and only a single phrase came out of his mouth, though it was whispered:

"It's Tabitha's devil!"

"Wow, so you do have some kaijudo powers!" Tsugumi noticed.

"This is what Hakuoh-sama trained me and the others for. Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to summon a creature, even as a hologram." Luna confessed.

"Still, you're doing a great job so far. Anyway, that doesn't mean that I'll back down. I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, tap Hot Spring Gallows and bring Merriane, Apostle of Alps and Chandelier, Light Weapon into the battle zone!"

The two robotic creatures made of gold appeared behind Tsugumi also as holograms. Still, that didn't seem to frighten Luna as she began to gain self confidence.

"Go, Irohas, break a shield!" Tsugumi ordered and this time when Luna's shield was thrown in the air, she caught it.

"Thank you, Tsugumi! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Ultimus back to her hand!" Luna said and Tsugumi's card got bounced into her hand. "Now it's my turn, I summon Ribbity Frog! With its effect I send Chandelier back to the hyperspatial zone!"

Then Luna's Ribby Frog card shined with a blue light and got bounced on the top of her deck face down.

"Hot Spring Gallows' effect sends Ribbity Frog to the top of my deck after I summon it, and since Ribbity Frog left the battle zone, I send Merriane back to the hyperspatial zone as well!" Luna continued and watched how Tsugumi's card was bounced to the far right of the blonde girl's table side where the hyperspatial zone was lying.

Afterwards, the Ribbity Frog card got bounced once again and went from the top of Luna's deck to the battle zone.

"Then with Hot Spring Gallows' same effect, Ribbity Frog is put back into the battle zone, and Ribbity Frog's effect sends Irohas back to your hand!" Luna finished her explanation and Tsugumi's last card in the battle zone got bounced as well. "Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows, double break her shields! Aqua Surfer, break another shield!"

"Amazing!" Tsugumi exclaimed after seeing the girl's main strategy. "You managed to bounce my entire field and take down three of my shields in one turn."

"Yes, this was the purpose of the deck that I've built, to spam water or fire creatures through the effect of Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows."

"I understand. Still, this isn't over yet! Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Ribbity Frog! Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Mother Hole and put Leonidas, White Knight Spirit and Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon into the battle zone!"

"Nice move there, Tsugumi! However, I think this game is over."

"Huh?"

"I summon Corile, and with its effect I send Leonidas to the top of your deck. Then Hot Spring Gallows' effect sends Corile to the top of my deck and puts him in the battle zone once again. So I now send Saint Ave Maria back to the hyperspatial zone."

"She managed to clean up Tsugumi's battle zone once again!" Hakuoh exclaimed.

"Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows, break her final shields!" Luna ordered and Tsugumi took the two shields in her hand and saw that they were Milzam, Spirit of Miracles and Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits. "Any shield trigger?"

"No, I've got no more shield triggers." Tsugumi answered.

"Then Aqua Surfer, todomeda!"

Tsugumi fell on her back and all the students cheered the victorious Luna. However, the blue haired girl ignored their cheers and walked to her opponent. When Tsugumi opened her eyes, she saw that Luna was stretching her hand out to help her.

"Are you alright? I hope I didn't hurt you." Luna said.

"Oh don't worry, Luna-san, I'm more than fine." Tsugumi replied and took the girl's hand. "For I have in front of me not a random girl, but a chosen duelist… and a friend!"


	3. The young spirit unleashes

Luna helped Tsugumi get up and then the blonde girl wiped the dust off her red dress. The girls shared a small happy laugh but their moment was interrupted by a rather angry Subaru that came to them looking all gloomy.

"Subaru, is something the matter?" Tsugumi asked.

"Tsugumi, how can you let someone like her join us?" Subaru suddenly complained.

"What do you mean?" a shocked Luna mumbled. "I am not fit for the job?"

"Why should you be fit for the job? You're using the creature of our ex-arch nemesis, that devil called Hot Spring Gallows! If I remember better, Tsugumi, that Hot Spring Gallows united with two other creatures and formed the monster that slew our dear friend Rad. Would you like that kind of person to replace Edo-kun, Tsugumi?"

Tsugumi was beyond shocked. Never in her life would she have expected to see Subaru act so mean towards who would become their new teammate. Was he not realizing that he was hurting a girl's feelings? As for Luna, she was beyond scared and embarrassed. The girl could not understand why Subaru cared so much about her deck that he was criticizing her in such a harsh manner.

"I think that is quite enough, Subaru." Hakuoh tried to calm him down and put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I know it's hard for you, but you have to accept Luna as part of your team. It's the Proof's will, not yours."

"If I have wronged you with something, I deeply apologize." Luna said and tried to put her hands on Subaru's forearms, however, the black haired boy slapped them.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY CLAWS AWAY FROM ME!" Subaru shouted.

In the next moment, tears began to fall on Luna's red cheeks and the girl started crying. Tsugumi put her hands on the girl's shoulders and tried to comfort her.

Upon hearing those words, all the students, except for Tamma, began shouting mean words at Subaru. How dared he come in their class and insult one of their classmates who was not only one of the best, but also a true friend. Most boys took out their decks and shouted at him.

"Hey tough guy, think you're so awesome?" Chad said.

"Yeah, if you can pick on defenseless girls, why don't you pick on us?" Johnny added.

"Class, I want you to cal…"

"Don't worry, I can handle them." Subaru interrupted Hakuoh.

Subaru made a step towards the enraged class and then something strange happened to him. A purple aura surrounded his right hand, his eyes turned from brown to red and the shadow of Liger Blade appeared behind him. A few of them began to sweat in fear and even walk back to their desks. However, most were not impressed by that lights show and they still want to teach him a lesson.

"Alright, class, this isn't a boxing ring!" Hakuoh intervened once again. "If any of you wish to face him, your decks must be based on the fire or nature civilizations. The rest of you, sit down and don't say another word!"

More than half of the class sat down, some really disappointed that they couldn't face the chosen darkness duelist, but in the end only 10 duelists remained on their feet, Chad being in front of them.

"Stand back, guys, and watch how I handle this loser!" Chad spoke overconfidently.

"Heh, you'll regret your arrogance." Subaru calmly said and let his red eyes return to their normal color.

And thus their duel began. But even if Chad was used with rushing his opponent, Subaru managed to call out his blockers on early turns, then discard the cards from his opponent's hand and ultimately summoned Cebu Aquman Jr to get more cards in his hand. In the end both had no more shields left and Subaru had only Drilling Squito and Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in his battle zone. Thanks to Chad's Natural Snares, Subaru had managed to reach 9 mana. The boy's hand then glowed with a bright purple light yet again and he showed the card that would bring him victory.

"I evolve Drilling Squito into Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons!" Subaru announced.

A red winged gray goat demon with a white X mark on its chest, a black goat head with yellow eyes and a large sharp sword in its left hand appeared behind Subaru as a hologram and roared loudly. A terrified Chad made a few steps back and Subaru tapped the card while saying:

"Ballom Hunter, todomeda!"

The creature swung its sword and even if it was a hologram, it threw Chad away and made him land back on his desk along with his cards. In that moment the other 9 realized that Subaru wasn't a person to joke around with.

And so an hour passed and Subaru defeated 3 more duelists. But then next in line was none other than Tamma, who seemed to be the only one who didn't hate on Subaru at all.

"Awesome, I am about to face the chosen darkness duelist, Subaru Geki!" Tamma excitedly spoke.

"Tamma? Even you?" Subaru said stunned.

"Why I couldn't miss a match with my hero, could I?"

"I'm sorry, Tamma, but your 'hero' is about to show you what real dueling is!"

"You will? Oh my God, I can't wait! This will be so amazing!"

Tamma's over optimistic attitude was annoying Subaru even more, but he tried to ignore that. While Tamma was setting his cards on the dueling table, Subaru was reflecting upon the events of yesterday and how he saw Tamma was an eager boy that wished to become even more involved in the mysteries of dueling. Tamma's apparent worshipping of Subaru didn't mean that much, though it did flatter the chosen darkness duelist a little to know that he had a fan. And now fate's mysterious hands brought them together in a duel, and if Tamma would win, he would be taking Rad's place. Subaru could not allow that to happen, but he also felt sympathy for the young boy and in a twisted sense wished that he would win.

"Are you alright?" Tamma asked.

"Oh yes, sure, you can begin the game." Subaru replied.

Tamma was the first to charge mana. Subaru drew a card and did the same. Then Tamma drew a card, charged mana yet again and showed a darkness card while saying:

"I summon Vorg, Ogre Puppet!"

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said, then drew 2 cards and put Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger in his graveyard.

"Huh? Atsuto? I don't see him anywhere." Tamma spoke with confusion.

"The real Atsuto only comes if I'm in a kaijudo duel. However, this is just a normal duel, so don't expect him to pop out of nowhere."

"Oki doki, then I summon Vorg Brawler of Hell! Vorg, Ogre Puppet, break his shield!"

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it to discard a card from your hand!"

The card that Subaru discarded from Tamma's hand was Wrath of God! Valborg Now.

"Atsuto, break his shield!" Subaru ordered and a wave was blasted from his card that pushed a shield card from the table into Tamma's hand.

"I summon Gett, Infernal Friendship! When Gett is put into the battle zone, I'll destroy one of your creatures that costs less than the number of Hunters in my battle zone. Let's see, I have 3 Hunters and Atsuto costs 2. I guess I'll destroy Atsuto!" Tamma joyously said and his Gett card glowed with a bright red light and made Subaru's Atsuto card jump in the air and land on his graveyard. "Vorg, Brawler of Hell and Vorg, Ogre Puppet, break his shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V appeared behind Subaru as a hologram. Tamma admired the creature with his jaws dropped and with stars in his eyes.

"Wow, I don't believe it, that's Raion, your deck avatar!" Tamma exclaimed.

"I didn't know you had a fan boy, Subaru." Raion whispered to the chosen duelist.

"That doesn't matter now, Raion! Take down his creatures!" Subaru coldly ordered.

Liger Blade swung its sword and cut down the two Vorg creatures which for a moment appeared behind Tamma as holograms as well. Now Tamma had only Gett in his battle zone and Subaru's turn had come.

"I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!" Subaru said and made Tamma show him the two cards in his hand – Genji Boy and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil. "I discard Genji Boy. Now go, Liger Blade, double break his shields!"

Raion roared and jumped towards Tamma's side of the table. Two shields appeared as holograms above Tamma and the creature slashed both with one of its swords. Tamma took the cards in his hand and then showed one to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Liger Blade!"

"What the…" Subaru murmured amazed while two demonic black hands appeared as holograms and smashed the holographic Liger Blade.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Genocide Kaiser!" Tamma said while putting the card on the table. "Hey, Subaru, what do you say? Am I good with the darkness cards?"

"Good with the darkness cards? Hah, you're still a starter, besides rush you don't seem to comprehend the other important use the darkness civilization." Subaru harshly said.

"Then I guess you could teach me more about the darkness cards?" Tamma innocently replied, not noticing the fact that Subaru was mean to him.

"Yeah right… Listen, kid, let's just end this duel already!"

"Oh sure, it's your turn, Subaru."

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Drilling Squito!"

Meanwhile, a few miles away from the city, lying on the grassy plain was none other than Shubham. The wind had begun to blow, but his red jacket was enough to keep him warm. All the time, Shubham couldn't take his mind off two things: the promise that he had to make to Kokujo on his deathbed, that he and Subaru would work together, and the fact that he had lost to Subaru the other day. No matter how much respect Shubham had for Kokujo, he just couldn't bring himself to work together with someone soft and good hearted like Subaru. But that soft person was also the one that humiliated him. And that meant one thing - that Shubham would never give up until he'd have his payback.

The black haired teen sighed and searched in his pockets. He took out three cards: Gallows Cebu Kaiser, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Hydra Gilsaurus.

"My clan's cards…" Shubham spoke to himself. "I still can't believe that after so many years I have finally come into your possession. And all thanks to Kokujo finally defeating Tabitha…"

Shubham then pictured in mind what happened after Kokujo gave Ballcadeias the final attack order. The creature created the most powerful laser ball it ever had and threw it upon Tabitha, disintegrating the witch into space dust. Afterwards, even if he was severely injured, Kokujo forced himself to walk to Tabitha's dueling table and took the three psychic creature cards that Shubham was now holding in his hands. When he couldn't resist anymore, Shubham grabbed Kokujo before he could fall on the ground. That was the moment when the evil genius gave the avenger Shubham the three psychic creature cards back and told him that his clan had been revenged. Right after that, since Tabitha had been killed, a portal opened and the survivors went back home with the dead bodies of Rad and Sora and the wounded Edo and Kokujo.

The flashback ended and Shubham stared at the sky while speaking to himself yet again:

"With Tabitha dead it seems that I have no other purpose in life than to have a silly rematch with Subaru. Heh, it seems that the chosen darkness duelist isn't the only one who had become lame lately."

In the next moment, Shubham heard some metallic steps behind him. The boy got up and turned around to see a man dressed in purple knight armor with spikes, a red cape and a horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull. In the two black holes where the eyes of the helmet should be seen, Shubham saw only darkness and two small red circles shining in that darkness.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the teen asked.

"I am Kaizer." an otherworldly, almost demonic voice came out of the helmet.

Back at the school, the duel between Tamma and Subaru was getting intense. Both players had 2 shields left, Tamma had Gett, Infernal Friendship and Genocide Kaiser in his battle zone, while Subaru had Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Drilling Squito in his battle zone.

Tamma's turn had come and when the red haired 10 year old drew his next card, his hand began to shine with a bright red aura. Subaru started with amazement at Tamma as the boy tapped the 6 cards in his mana zone and then placed the card he drew on one of the cards from his battle zone while saying:

"I evolve Gett into Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!"

Behind Tamma appeared a hologram of a giant humanoid dressed in a thick red armor that was wielding black cannons and had a purple X on its chest. Subaru sweated a bit in awe as he remembered that it was the same creature that helped Tamma defeat Chad the other day.

"Go, Ogre Beater, break his final shields!" Tamma ordered.

"Block the attack, Drilling Squito!" Subaru ordered and watched how the two holograms fought, that of the red spider like bug with a drill between its legs losing the battle and getting crushed by the armored humanoid.

"Since Ogre Beater won a battle, I'll untap him!"

"Oh no, that means that my blocker was useless!" Subaru spoke in his mind.

"Ogre Beater, break his final shields!"

The creature aimed its cannons at Subaru and fired them, the last two shields appearing as holograms and getting crushed by the attack. The two cards bounced from the table and landed in Subaru's hand, but then the boy got stunned when he saw that one of his shields was Aqua Surfer. At the sight of the creature, Subaru began to picture his old friend Edo using it. And once Edo's image appeared, tons of other memories followed – Subaru and Edo watching anime until morning, Subaru and Edo accidentally destroying Kokujo's house, Subaru and Edo building together a deck focusing around Supernova Neptune Shutrom, Subaru and Edo having fun together at the Geki mansion, Subaru and Edo surfing together on the beach, Subaru and Edo doing Death Note cosplay, Subaru and Edo relaxing at the hot springs, and finally, Subaru and Edo doing pranks on an unsuspecting Rad, both being chased by him afterwards.

Seeing no response from Subaru, Tamma thought that he had no shield trigger, so he simply tapped his other card and said:

"Genocide Kaiser, todomeda!"

The young boy's voice was what woke Subaru up from his memories. Before he realized it, he had lost the duel. The class began to cheer the victorious Tamma and the red haired boy ran at Subaru and hugged him powerfully towards everyone's surprise.

"Yay, I did it!" Tamma cheered. "Now I can be a chosen duelist!"

"Uh, Tamma?" Subaru asked while sweating.

"We're gonna have so much fun together! We're gonna train, and eat from the fridge at night, and kick some losers' butts! It will be so awesome; we'll be the dynamic duo that the world had never seen before!" Tamma spoke fast all of his plans.

"Tamma, have you heard of something called personal space?" Subaru said and gently pushed Tamma to free himself from the boy's hug. "And no, I don't think that you'll be a good fire duelist, you're just…"

"Ah, no worries, I'll train even harder once we go to the UFO! It will be fun!"

Seeing that Tamma's optimism was too much for him, Subaru decided to let the boy have his way and shuffled his deck for the next match. Tamma joined Tsugumi and Luna to a corner and watched how Subaru kept defeating his classmates.

After another hour of dueling, Subaru took down four more duelists, leaving just one left. The chosen darkness duelist sighed in relief after he defeated the ninth duelist and then wiped the sweat off his forehead and arranged his messy hair that looked almost like a weird black mane. Afterwards he began shuffling his deck once again and said:

"Alright, anyone else left to face me?"

"I guess that would be me." a male voice resounded.

Subaru turned his head to the other side of the table and saw a tall muscular blonde boy of about his age, wearing a green cap, a black T shirt covered by a green vest that had the nature civilization symbol spread on both halves and white pants. His imposing image made Subaru's spine shiver and the black haired boy stared at him with a rather defensive sight, he returning the favor by staring at him with his yellow eyes. A smile appeared on the blonde's mouth, revealing his teeth which seemed almost cat like.

"Who are you?" Subaru asked while trying to hide his fear.

"The name's Tiger." the blonde replied.


	4. Tiger VS Lion

Subaru felt threatened by Tiger's menacing stare. The blonde deserved his name; his gaze was similar to that of a ferocious tiger's. However, the black haired boy did not back down. He returned Tiger the stare of a proud lion and shook his head to mess his hair a bit and make it look like a mane.

"Hah, you want to see who the king of the jungle is?" Tiger mocked him.

"It will be my pleasure!" Subaru accepted the challenge.

Both duelists set their cards and thus their match began. While they were charging mana in their first turns, Tsugumi, Luna and Tamma were discussing.

"Say guys, who is this guy?" Tsugumi asked.

"You mean Tiger? He's nothing but a loner." Tamma explained.

"Actually, Tiger is one of the strongest duelists from our class. He simply doesn't like to talk to many people because he feels like they're not worth his attention. Luckily, he somehow saw me and Tamma as nice company." Luna said.

"Ah, so a tough guy, I hope that Subaru will be alright." Tsugumi spoke and turned her head to the dueling table.

At the duel, Subaru was feeling really uneasy. That Tiger seemed to have a rather strange aura of power that couldn't help but make him shiver. The boy watched carefully every move that he did, expecting the worse.

"Let's go, I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage!" Tiger said and a tiger like armored humanoid with a laser gun for its right hand appeared behind him as a hologram. "Go, Taiga, break his shield!"

The humanoid aimed its gun at one of Subaru's shields and fired it, pushing a card from his shield zone into his hand.

"He summoned a speed attacker in his second turn…" Subaru thought. "No, you mustn't reveal your fear!"

"What's the matter? Did my quick attack surprise you?" Tiger arrogantly asked.

"Not at all!" Subaru quickly replied. "I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

After putting the card in the battle zone, Subaru drew two cards and then put Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Dark GUY, Romanoff Zero in the graveyard.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it." Tiger said and then put the top card of his deck into the mana zone. "Taiga, break another shield!"

The humanoid repeated its attack and another one of Subaru's shields got to his hand. The chosen darkness duelist tried to keep his cool. He charged mana and showed another multicolored card while saying:

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma! Atsuto, break his shield!"

A beam came out of Atsuto's card and bounced a shield off Tiger's table to his hand. However, a slick smile appeared on the blonde boy's face that made Subaru worry immediately. The card shined with a bright red light and Tiger showed it to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!"

"Blazing Tiger! When it is put in the battle zone, all of Subaru's creatures with power 2000 or less are destroyed." Luna said.

"This doesn't look good for him." Tamma pointed out.

"Subaru…" Tsugumi murmured.

Tiger put the card on his battle zone and then Subaru's Atsuto and Maxval cards got bounced off the battle zone and landed in the graveyard.

Meanwhile, at the grassy plain outside of the city, Shubham was standing face to face with the mysterious armored person that identified itself as Kaizer.

"Why have you come to me?" Shubham asked.

"I have come to bring you an offer, Shubham Das." Kaizer's demonic voice resounded.

Shubham began to get insecure. Not only was a strange being talking to him, but it also knew his real name. Not to mention that Kaizer looked really threatening.

"What kind of offer?" Shubham kept asking.

"An offer that you will not be able to refuse." Kaizer continued. "I am on a quest to find the temple in which the witch called Tabitha Lenox had hidden the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened."

"Tabitha? So you're one of her servants then?"

"Do not rush to conclusions; this is not your style, Raiden Shubham. I have been created by the forces of evil; I have no connection with Tabitha Lenox whatsoever."

"Alright, go on." Shubham said and crossed his arms.

"In order to find the temple, I must get my hands on the only map that can lead us there. But it is said that Tabitha Lenox had tore the map into five pieces and scattered them across the world." Kaizer said.

"And let me guess, you need my help to find those pieces of map?"

"You catch up pretty fast, Shubham Das. Yes, I have come to recruit you into my future team. So what do you say, will you accept my offer?"

"Well, Kaizer, not every day I see freaks dressed worse than the Black Knight who bring me up crazy offers of conquests for ultimate power."

"Maybe this will convince you – on our journey we will cross paths on more than one occasion with the chosen duelists, this one is a given."

"With the chosen duelists, huh?" Shubham gave signs of reconsideration over the offer.

"Think about it, you can have your rematch with Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist." Kaizer insisted. "Well, I am waiting for your answer."

Shubham stared at the sky as the wind blew through his hair. He once again remembered of the promise that he made to Kokujo and then the humiliating defeat that he had to suffer at the hands of Subaru. The black haired teen sighed and then turned to the armored being and said:

"Alright, Kaizer, you've got yourself a deal!"

"I am happy to hear that." Kaizer replied.

"Let's hope that I'll be able to have some fun while on this quest." Shubham said and an evil grin appeared on his face.

"Do not worry; we will have plenty of fun."

And so a portal appeared behind Kaizer and the being in the knight armor turned around and made a sign to Shubham, telling him to follow. The boy nodded and walked along with him in the portal which immediately disappeared.

Back at the school, the duel between Tiger and Subaru had become intense. Subaru's field had been totally wiped out, whereas Tiger had Taiga, the Warrior Savage and Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord in his battle zone. And not was Tiger's turn. Subaru was very frustrated that his opponent had take control of the zone, but he couldn't do anything to stop him yet. What was worse was that Tiger was rushing him worse than even Tamma.

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe!" Tiger said and put the top card of his deck into his mana zone. "What's the matter, Subaru? I thought you were tough enough to face me."

"Of course I am, don't think that this is all I've got!" Subaru tried to threaten him.

"Pft, yeah right... Anyway, Blazing Tiger and Taiga break two of his shields!"

Two more shields of Subaru's went down, leaving him just with one last. But just as he got them in his hand, he saw a small beacon of hope. He showed one of the cards to Tiger and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate! Destroy Iron Arm Tribe!"

Tiger calmly placed the destroy creature into his mana zone and the awaited his opponent's next move.

"Then I put Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist in the battle zone!" Subaru said, and then drew 2 cards and discarded Terror Pit and Aqua Naruto Surfer. "My turn, I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top cards of Subaru's deck were Aqua Surfer, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Jenny, the Suicide Doll. He put Aqua Surfer to his graveyard and took the other two to his hand. Afterwards he tapped the only multicolored card in his battle zone and said:

"Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, attack Taiga!"

The two cards fired beams at each other and got bounced in the air. Subaru and Tiger stared at each other while their cards floated in the air for a few moments until they landed in their graveyards.

However, when Subaru thought that he was safe for one more turn, the confident grin appeared once again on Tiger's face. The menacing predator-like stare of his eyes began haunting Subaru once again. It seemed to him that Tiger was just like the cat that enjoyed playing with its food just before it would give it its bloody fate in its sharp fangs. And if there was one thing that Subaru hated in a duel, that was the feeling that your opponent is toying with you and even delaying your impending loss.

"Subaru, you say that you are a chosen duelist, a hero of this world, right?" Tiger's voice brought the long black haired boy back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm the chosen darkness duelist, got a problem?" Subaru coldly spoke back.

"Ever since you've come in this class, you've only proved us all what an arrogant self-centered bastard you are! And don't you try to bring me excuses that we're trying to replace your friends, this thing is beyond you and you shouldn't be judging us for this!"

"Stop playing psycho-analyst with me, you punk, because it won't work!"

"Fine, then I guess that losing the duel will knock some sense into you."

In the next moment, all the eight cards from Tiger's mana zone got tapped by themselves as he gracefully showed the last two cards from his hand while saying:

"I summon Polligon Jones, Adventure Faerie and evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

A giant blue insect appeared behind Tiger as a hologram and roared at Subaru.

"Go, Blazing Tiger, break his final shield!" Tiger ordered and pointed to the hologram of Subaru's last standing shield.

The fire tiger with rock armor rushed on the table and attacked Subaru's shield with the flame sword that it was wielding with its mouth. The card went in the air and Subaru saw that it was Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. It was that awkward moment in which your own trump card is lying in your shields when you probably needed it the most.

"Heh, looks like the lion has been tamed." Tiger mocked him. "Great Hercules, todomeda!"

The blue insect jumped at Subaru and attacked him. Even if it was only a hologram, its attack pushed him back and made him land defeated on the floor along with his cards. The classroom began to cheer Tiger for his victory. Luna and Tamma also seemed to be happy that their close friend and classmate had now become a chosen duelist as well.

Meanwhile, Tsugumi packed up Subaru's cards and when he got up, she gave his deck back to him. The boy then stared at it for a bit, then turned around and walked to the exit of the classroom.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tiger asked.

"Somewhere to get a little peace and quiet." Subaru shortly replied and then turned his face to them and gave them a menacing glare. "But if you three think that I will accept you as my teammates, you are sadly mistaken! Nobody will ever replace Edo, Rad and Sora!"

With those words being said, Subaru was out of the classroom. The students began to boo him, others cheering that he was finally gone. However, Tsugumi was being worried for his behavior. Tamma couldn't understand why he was so mean to them. Luna was rather sad that Subaru was so mean to them. As for Tiger, he didn't seem to show any emotion. The blonde simply walked out of the room as well without giving any explanations. Afterwards, Tiger went through the school's corridors until he reached a window and that's where he saw Subaru walking out of the schoolyard with his hands in his pockets and a grim expression on his face.

"It seems like he needs to be taught a little lesson." Tiger said.


	5. Wake up, Subaru!

_It was a nice summer day. On the city's beach, a sheet was lying on the sand with a pair of jeans, a black T shirt, and student clothes carelessly thrown on it. That day the sea's waves were rather big but that didn't matter to Subaru and his friend Edo. The two were riding the waves with their surfboards while wearing nothing but swimsuits. _

"_Say, Edo-kun, did you read the newest chapter of Seitokai no Ichizon's manga? I'm telling you, it totally rocked!" Subaru excitedly said._

"_Awesome! I gotta read it as quick as possible!" Edo shared his excitement. "Say, did you hear that Lordi put up a new single? It totally kicks ass!"_

"_They did? When we get home, I'm so gonna browse on the Internet for it!"_

_The hours seemed to carelessly pass by, but they ignored them. As long as they could have their fun together, time didn't matter at all. They kept riding whatever waves would rise from the sea's water and keep discussing whatever topic would come in their minds. _

"_And after that the present box blew up and the whole room got filled with cotton candy." Edo said and Subaru laughed hardily._

"_Hahaha, I should've seen the expression on Rad's face!" Subaru said and already imagined the angry face that Rad made. "You just had to ruin his birthday party, eh?"_

"_Ruin his birthday party? But every year I give him a present that explodes and he doesn't seem to mind." Edo naively stated._

"_That's because others stop him from ripping you apart." Subaru thought. _

"_So Suby, I saw you recently reading a dusty book and laughing like no tomorrow. May I ask what's funnier than me?" _

"_Oh, I was just reading the works of a classic Romanian comedian known as Caragiale, the jokes might be almost three centuries old, but they're still good satire, haha!"_

"_Whatever that means."_

_Subaru looked ahead in the horizon and saw the beach on which the sun was shining and the large city. The boy then sighed and began to reflect upon everything. The society described in the book he was reading hadn't changed that much since three hundred years ago. If people didn't have the high tech equipment, they would be exactly the same arrogant and stupid snobs that were the protagonists of the stories he was reading. And Edo, the guy surfing next to him, he wasn't that bright either. But that didn't stop Subaru from befriending him. Sure, he was very clumsy and did many stupid things, but at least he was an honest person with a good heart that simply wanted to have fun. As for himself, Subaru knew that he was no intellectual, in a sense he was far from it, but that didn't mean that he couldn't understand certain concepts or have his own view of the world. However, he realized that in the end bright people aren't always happy, and sometimes you need to do stupid things in your life, especially during youth, this being maybe the reason why he and Edo were such close pals. Not just common interests united them, but also the zen stupidity of doing illogical things for the fun of it._

"_Say, Edo-kun…"_

"_Yes, Suby?"_

"_In times like these, I couldn't have asked for a better friend." Subaru said and smiled to him, Edo's reaction being a rather surprised blush._

"_Gee, Suby, I don't know what to say…" Edo could barely speak. _

_Suddenly, the sky got cloudy and a storm began upon the sea. It was raining heavily and before the two teens could head for the beach, a giant wave appeared behind them. The two tried to surf away from it, but the wave was too fast for them and in the end it fell upon them. The two struggled under the water, but soon that water became a rather thick fog. Subaru looked around and saw that he had his clothes on. Then Edo's figure appeared a few feet away from him. The brown haired boy was also dressed up and his face expression was a saddened one. He gave Subaru an empty stare that crushed him deep down inside._

"_Edo-kun, don't go!" Subaru shouted and ran to him._

_The black haired boy hugged his friend tightly but then he felt as if he wasn't hugging anything at all. When he looked better around, he saw that Edo was gone. The only thing left was the fog that was getting thicker and thicker._

Subaru opened his eyes and saw that he was in the hospital room of the UFO. He was lying on his knees and had fallen asleep with his face on Edo's chest. His friend's sheets were now wet with his tears. Slowly, Subaru began to remember that he was in the present time. Edo was paralyzed, three of his friends were gone, and three newcomers had entered his home to replace them.

Sighing, the boy got up and noticed that a card from his deck which was in his pockets had fallen on the floor. He leaned down to take it and then saw that it was Aqua Naruto Surfer. The black haired teen stared at it for a few moments and then he could hear some screeches of sorrow coming out of it.

"You miss him too, don't you?" Subaru asked the card.

Meanwhile, in a village far away in the mountains, a portal opened. Out of it walked Kaizer, who was soon followed by Shubham. After the portal closed, the two began to explore the small village. People ran away from them in the very instant they saw Kaizer and his imposing armor.

"So Kaizer, what exactly are we doing here?" Shubham asked.

"We are here to recruit a new ally." Kaizer replied with his grave demonic voice.

"A new ally… from a hot spring village?"

"Yes, you see, Shubham, inside this village lies a strong duelist who is waiting for his chance to do something for the Duel Masters world. And once we find him, he will become a valuable member of our team."

Shubham didn't say another thing, for he did not want to question his master's word. Still, the simple thought of a strong duelist being hidden in a poor mountain village was kind of funny.

After a few minutes of search, they found a row of randomly located pools in which hot springs were streaming. A huge steam was coming out of them all, but that didn't stop the duo. They saw that in the pool closest to the village was a thin 15 year old with almost no hair, a turban on his head and yellow eyes. He was relaxing in the hot water and staring at the sun's first rays that began to fill the dawn sky. When he heard footsteps approaching, he calmly spoke with a Singaporean dialect:

"Why you bother me, la?"

"He sensed our presence!" Shubham remarked.

"You must be the famous duelist of these mountains, Alwyn Tomikawa?" Kaizer asked.

"Also known as Alwyn the Onsen, ah." the young teen answered.

"We have come to discuss important matters." Kaizer continued.

"Then let's discuss them at hot spring bath, la."

Since their victories from the other day, Tamma, Luna and Tiger had earned the right to be called chosen duelists. And because of that, Tsugumi had to come with Tamma and Luna to their parents and explain their situation, then help them move house in the UFO. As for Tiger, he simply followed Tamma and Luna into the UFO while carrying a two large bags. Tsugumi had made sure to get them three separate rooms in the UFO, but Subaru tried to oppose to that. Luckily for them, Tsugumi managed to convince him to let it go, and thus Tamma got Rad's room, Tiger got Edo's and Luna got Sora's.

Until night came, the three newcomers had managed to accommodate to their new home. Tamma easily turned his room into a Rad and Subaru shrine, the boy also putting many 'do not disturb' signs on his door. On the other hand, Tiger threw out every collection of Edo's, but Subaru managed to take his friend's stuff and hide them in his wardrobe. Tiger then filled the room with his personal things which were a bed, a chair, a table, a computer and a poster with a tiger. As for Luna, she didn't bring many changes to Sora's room, the girl just bringing her own computer and books in and also installing herself.

And so, as midnight was approaching, Atsuto and Tsugumi were sitting in the living room. The black haired commentator was holding three cards in his hand, whereas Tsugumi was preparing a small speech. In just a few minutes, the tan skinned boy wearing transition glasses, white T shirt, black vest, black jeans and silver sneakers who was known by the others as Nolan brought the three newcomers to the living room.

"Alright, we're here, what's the whole deal about?" Tamma asked.

"Something fabulous this way comes!" Atsuto said and revealed his shining teeth.

"He's right, we are about to begin the ceremony that will grant you the ranks of chosen duelists." Tsugumi explained and then walked to the door. "You guys stay here, I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

The blonde left with Nolan and both headed to the other side of the UFO. As they were departing from the living room, they noticed that the lights were starting to get fainter. When they finally reached the hospital room, they saw that it was almost dark apart from the light of a small lamp. Edo's paralyzed body was lying in comatose on the bed while the machines were sustaining it. Lying on a chair by his side was a saddened Subaru who had fallen asleep.

"Look at him; he's changed so much from the awesome duelist I've faced before the tournament." Nolan noticed.

"I know." Tsugumi wept and a few tears fell from her blue eyes. "Ever since our last battle against Tabitha, he's been blaming himself for everything. But he doesn't know that it hurts me to see him so miserable! More so, I am trying my best to make sure that whatever is left of our team survives and all he does is ignore me and retreat in his own shell to cry. I fear that our relationship might begin to tear apart."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine, Tsugumi, you'll manage to get past this."

"I honestly hope you are right! Anyway, let's wake him up."

Tsugumi gently shook Subaru's shoulder until the black haired chosen duelist opened his eyes and saw them.

"What is it, Tsugumi? Why did you wake me up at this time in the night?" Subaru tiredly asked.

"Listen, Subaru, I know that this might be hard for you, but can you hand me the Proof?" the girl demanded.

"The Proof? But what do you need it for?"

"Tamma, Luna and Tiger need to be initiated as chosen duelists and for that the Proof is required."

Upon hearing these words, Subaru took his eyes off Tsugumi and stared at the floor. A grim expression appeared on his face and his hands began to tremble. Both Tsugumi and Nolan feared that he would try to resist, but they were surprised to see him put his right hand in his pocket and take out the blue gem. The black haired boy handed it to his lover and then sourly spoke:

"Do whatever you want with it. But don't think that I'll ever see them as my teammates."

"Subaru… It is too late, they have already been chosen." Tsugumi replied and then turned her back and slowly walked away. "But I beg of you, if you truly love me, return to the boy I love."

With those final words, the girl disappeared into the corridor, leaving Subaru alone with Nolan and the paralyzed Edo. The black haired chosen duelist gave the other teen an angered stare, almost as if he was going to ask him why he didn't leave him alone. Nolan however had a serious face and straightly spoke to him:

"Listen, I know you're going through a hard time, but there's no reason for you to make a whole drama out of all this."

"Tsh, what do you know what I'm going through?" Subaru arrogantly asked.

"I know it probably better than you, dumbass!" Nolan insisted. "My brother and his friends were slaughtered mercilessly by Tigra and THEM and I saw it happen as a child. Don't you tell me about pain from losing a loved one, I know how it feels!"

"Your point is?"

"My point is that you should stop whining and get on with your life! I mean, look at you, Subaru, Tsugumi is still alive and well, she is trying to give you all her love and support to go through this harsh period of your life, and how do you repay her?"

"Don't you come and tell me about how I should have a relationship with her!"

"That's not what I'm hinting at. What I'm trying to say is that you, who still have your girlfriend alive, are whining over your dead friends, while I, whose friends and BROTHER are dead, am not whining, and I have NOBODY to support me. Don't you see a problem here?"

"You know what, Subaru? He's right." Raion said and the bipedal demonic lion materialized on the black haired boy's shoulder. "I think it's high time you got up and went to join the ceremony. After all, these three will be your new friends."

"Shut up, shut up… ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Subaru yelled. "I want to be left alone now, and don't you dare to bother me again or you'll be sorry!"

"I'm afraid I've done all I could." Nolan sighed. "The choice is yours from this point on."

Nolan turned his back and walked out of the room while Raion disappeared off the boy's shoulder. Subaru turned to Edo and let his tears fall once again.

"They will never replace you, Edo-kun, NEVER!" Subaru wept on the boy's chest.

Back at the hot springs, the two evil duelists had begun discussing with Alwyn. Shubham had taken off his clothes and joined him in the hot spring bath while Kaizer simply sat near the pool with his feet crossed, for the water would make his armor rust.

"Say, what is so important that you bother me, la?" Alwyn asked.

"We have come to ask for your help in the regards of an important matter." Kaizer explained.

"Yeah, we're on the search of five map pieces and on this quest we'll be facing a team of powerful duelists." Shubham added.

"And you need me to defeat those duelists, ah?" Alwyn kept asking.

"Exactly, we cannot carry on this mission all alone." Kaizer continued. "More so, I've heard that your dueling skills are legendary."

"Indeed they are, armor guy. Alwyn the Onsen has won many tournaments. Also, I am a legend around this village, even if poor villagers don't know duel." Alwyn proudly spoke.

"Does this mean that you will accept our offer?" Shubham asked.

"Sure, if we will go on an epic adventure, I will be more than glad to join, la!"

Kaizer then turned his head to the shining moon. The armored duelist felt a strange power flowing through the air and closed his red eyes while meditating.

"So, the new chosen duelists are being born now." Kaizer thought.

At the UFO, a bright blue light was coming out of the living room. Inside it, Tsugumi was holding the Proof with both her hands above the heads on the kneeled Tamma, Luna and Tiger.

"By the power that the Proof invested me, I, Tsugumi Shirayama, now grant you the titles of chosen duelists." the blonde girl declared and Atsuto walked to them and offered them the three cards. "Tamma, I grant you Bolshack Cross NEX and the title of the chosen fire duelist. Luna, I grant you Crystal Zweilancer and the title of the chosen water duelist. Tiger, I grant you Terradragon Diruga Vejida and the title of the chosen nature duelist."

"So it has been written and so it has been done." a voice came out of the Proof.

Three beams came out of the Proof and descended upon the three chosen duelists. The beam that fell upon Tamma was red, the beam that fell upon Luna was blue and the beam that fell upon Tiger was green. Atsuto and Nolan sat back and watched with amazement how the Proof was blessing its new chosen duelists. After a few moments, the beams disappeared and same was with the light coming from the gem. Tsugumi smiled to the three and then said:

"Congratulations, you are now officially part of the team!"

"Yay, I'll so rock!" Tamma jumped happily.

"It's such an honor…" Luna murmured and blushed.

"Say, Tsugumi, do you know where Subaru is?" Tiger asked while getting up.

"Oh, he's at the hospital room with… Edo." the blonde answered with a sad tone in her voice. "Edo was the previous chosen water duelist and his best friend, but now he's nothing but a living vegetable."

"I see."

In the next moment, Tiger walked out of the room without saying another word. Tamma and Luna did not notice it for they were too happy. However, Tsugumi got worried and was about to go after him, but then Nolan put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, meaning that they should let Tiger do what he intended to do.

At the hospital room, Subaru was silently sobbing on Edo's body while the small lamp light was still keeping the darkness away from them. However, the black haired boy soon heard footsteps at the opened door. He lifted his head up and was surprised to see Tiger standing there with his hands in his pockets and staring at him with a disgusted look on his face. The blonde then broke the silence between them:

"So that's him."

"Yes, that's Edo-kun, my friend."

"Tsh, you're so pathetic, crying over a guy that isn't worth your two cents anymore." Tiger harshly said.

"You don't know anything about this, so stop interfering in these matters, punk!" Subaru coldly replied while wiping his tears off.

"You're right; I don't know anything about what your relationship with him was. What I do know is that as long as you're a chosen duelist, you must work together with the team, but now all that you're doing is pulling us back."

Subaru murmured something for himself and simply turned his head away from him. Tiger got angered and grabbed him by his black shirt, afterwards lifted him up so their eyes could meet. The blonde boy gave him a menacing look and said:

"Listen here, a new evil's coming and we both know that we can't face it while the team is incomplete. I don't know about you, but I don't want to leave this world at the hands of I don't know what psycho just because you can't get over this melodrama."

"The world? Frankly, I don't give a fuck about this world anymore." Subaru passively affirmed.

"You don't? Actually, I can see why, it's because of him." Tiger said and let go of him, then turned to the bed on which the brown haired boy was lying. "As long as he is here, you won't be able to do your job. So I see two solutions: either you take your lifeless pal and leave or you finally let him join the dead where he belongs."

In the next moment, Tiger walked to the machines that were keeping Edo alive. Subaru watched in horror as he stretched his right arm to unplug the devices and finally let Edo join the afterlife. But just as his hand was about to touch the plug, he felt the strength of Subaru's hands clutch his arm and pull it back.

"No, I won't let you kill Edo-kun!" Subaru shouted.

"Wake up already!" Tiger shouted back and punched him in the face.

Subaru was thrown by the blonde's punch and landed against a wall.

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life like a whining bitch? Have you no more important goals in life than clinging to the past? Honestly, wake up, Subaru!" Tiger continued.

Subaru put his hand on his nose and saw that blood was falling out of it. He stared for a few moments at that red liquid and silence had fallen upon the room once again. The black haired chosen duelist slowly got on his feet as a sudden grin appeared on his face. The boy burst into a maniacal laughter than made Tiger back down a bit with fear. Subaru's eyes suddenly turned red and the image of Liger Blade appeared behind him, the demonic lion looking as menacing as a predator that had spotted its prey and was preparing for an attack. The creature was holding its swords in such a way that they almost resembled scythes. Tiger was in awe. The melancholic wimp that he had punched a few moments ago had suddenly turned into a monster. Subaru approached him while still laughing like a psychopath and once they were face to face again, the black haired teen declared:

"You think you can put up with me? How about we decide this whole thing in a duel?"

"Don't think you can scare me, I've defeated you once!" Tiger replied and showed his deck while still sweating a bit with fear.

"Oh, don't worry, this time things will be clearly different." Subaru said and showed his deck in his right hand, both the deck and his hand glowing with a bright purple aura. "If I win, then you'll shut your mouth and leave me be!"

"Heh, but if I win, it's either out with you and Edo or just out with Edo."

The two duelists walked out of the UFO and began their match on the plain in the dead of the night.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!" Subaru said and discarded Jasmine, Mist Faerie from Tiger's hand.

"I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage." Tiger said. "Taiga, break his shield!"

A tiger like armored humanoid with a laser gun for its right hand rushed at Subaru and shot one of his shields. The shield shards united into a card that Subaru showed to him and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign! I revive Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it once again!"

This time Tiger discarded Yattare Pippi from his hand.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma." Subaru said.

"You're such a wise guy. Discarding cards from my hand like that." Tiger joked. "I charge mana and attack another shield with Taiga!"

"Block the attack, Maxval! Now it's my turn, I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!"

Tiger showed the only two cards from his hand – Iron Arm Tribe and Hyperspatial Faerie Hole – and Subaru chose to discard the first. Tiger was a little angered at first, but he calmed down quickly. The blonde boy simply charged mana and finished his turn.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru said and revealed the top 3 cards from his deck: Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Drilling Squito and Aqua Naruto Surfer. "Thunder Blade and Drilling Squito go to my hand, Aqua Naruto Surfer goes to my graveyard."

"Heh, I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and put Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ into the battle zone!" Tiger said and a white bipedal wolf warrior wielding a fire sword appeared behind him.

"Tsh, your puppy doesn't scare me a bit. I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole!"

Suddenly, Subaru's Kitarou blew up and instead of it appeared a red demonic dragon which was wielding a dark blue sword and a black tiger with sharp purple teeth, dark golden claws and shining purple eyes. Subaru pointed at Tiger's deck and then a Hyperspatial Red Green Hole, Silver Shovel and Apache Hyahho landed in his graveyard from the top of his deck.

"Oh, poor me, whatever shall I do!" Tiger faked being worried. "Oh wait, I know exactly what I'll do – I cast Natural Snare and send Volg Thunder back where he came from!"

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed and watched how his demonic dragon disappeared back into the hyperspatial zone. "You'll pay for that! I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger!"

A demonic tiger warrior with black armor and two purple swords appeared in the battle zone and slashed Tiger's wolf warrior making it blow up.

"Thunder Tiger, Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shields!" Subaru ordered and both creatures attacked two of Tiger's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!" Tiger said and a white tiger with black stripes, black horns, flames on its back and a sword with flames on its blade in its mouth appeared and slashed Aquman Jr with its weapon. "Now it's my turn, I summon Raging Apache Lizard and put Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ into the battle zone!"

Subaru made a step back amazed as he watched Tiger's wolf creature reappear.

"Blazing Tiger, break his shield!" Tiger ordered and the creature jumped at Subaru and took down another one of his shields with its sword.

Subaru took cover as another one of his shields got taken down. The cards in his hand weren't that good at all – he had a Drilling Squito and a Jenny, the Suicide Doll. Also, Tiger had three powerful creatures out in the battle zone which would take down all of his shields in the next turn if he didn't do something.

All of a sudden, Edo's image reappeared in the boy's mind. He saw his old friend smiling at him, laughing joyously. Subaru's hands began to tremble as he stared at the ground with sorrow and whispered:

"Edo-kun, I'm sorry."


	6. The smile

_The sun was setting upon the city, leaving the night to take over the celestial pelt once again. Returning from the beach with surfboards in their hands and their clothes on their shoulders were Subaru and Edo. Another relaxing day had passed for the duo and everything went down well. The beach was theirs for the taking; they had great waves and spent a great time together. _

"_Say, Suby, did you tell Tsugumi to prepare a nice warm dinner for us?" Edo asked._

"_Hehe, I knew I forgot something when we left early this morning." Subaru replied while sweating._

"_Ah, no worries, we'll order something. Say, do you want fish fingers and custard or ice cream pizza?" _

"…_I think I'll just eat something from the fridge." _

_Edo took out his cell phone and ordered both the fish fingers with custard and ice cream pizza much towards Subaru's disgust. As they kept walking with the sunset behind them, they wind began to slowly blow making them chill since they were still with their swimsuits on. _

"_I knew we should've left earlier!" Subaru lamented._

"_Ah, no worries, we'll reach home before the delivery comes." Edo assured him. "Also, I asked the guy to bring some chicken feet in chocolate syrup just for you."_

"_Uh, thank you, Edo-kun?"_

"_Subaru, are you alright?" _

"_What are you talking about?"_

"Subaru, it is your turn." Tiger's voice brought the daydreaming black haired teen back to reality.

"Oh right." Subaru answered with a disappointed tone in his voice since he realized once again that it was all a dream and that his friend was not with him anymore.

"Are we going to finish this duel tonight or not?" the impatient Tiger insisted.

"Ok, sure, I'll start my turn."

Subaru put his hand on the top card of his deck and felt a strange pulse. It was almost as if the card he needed was about to come. But what could it be? They both had three shields. Tiger had Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ and Raging Apache Lizard untapped and Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord tapped. He had Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Thunder Tiger in his battle zone and also Drilling Squito and Jenny, the Suicide Doll in his hand. Still, the fate of his friend rested on that duel, so he had to give his best shot. The black haired boy drew his next card and was relieved what he saw what it was. He quickly placed Jenny in his mana zone and showed the card while saying:

"I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Jin!"

A black gate appeared above Subaru and opened its doors, revealing many dark blue tentacles that ended in mouths. The tentacles attacked Tiger's Jin and devoured the creature mercilessly. Afterwards, a small white alien with a huge head came out of the gate before the doors closed and it disappeared.

"I revive Cebu Aquman Jr!" Subaru said and revealed the top 3 cards of his deck which were Aqua Surfer, Terror Pit and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, he taking the latter two into his hand and leaving Aqua Surfer to fall in his graveyard. "And now, Thunder Blade, attack Blazing Tiger!"

The demonic tiger attacked with its purple swords the white tiger with black stripes. The white tiger tried to resist with the sword from its mouth but the bigger demonic one proved much stronger and slashed it into pieces.

"Wow, I can't believe that he actually pulled a nice move!" Tiger thought.

"What's the matter, Tiger? It is your turn, tough guy." Subaru arrogantly said.

Tiger nodded to his opponent and drew his next card. The blonde sighed and then replied to his opponent:

"Sadly, I can't do much since I have no cards in hand. I summon Silver Shovel and send it to my mana zone!"

"I send Cebu Aquman Jr to my mana zone." Subaru said and the little alien got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared.

"Raging Apache Lizard, break his shield!" Tiger ordered and his creature obediently took down a shield of Subaru's, leaving him with two more.

Subaru drew his next card and was disappointed to get yet another Jenny, Suicide Doll when his opponent had no cards in hand. The boy placed it in his mana zone and then tapped six mana and said:

"I cast Terror Pit! Destroy Raging Apache Lizard!"

Two demonic black hands came out of nowhere and grabbed Tiger's creature, smashing it in a matter of seconds. The boy then tapped one of the cards from his battle zone and continued:

"I attack with Thunder Blade, double break his shields!"

The demonic tiger swung its swords and with just one slash took down two of the blonde's shields. However, the shield shards quickly united into two cards, one of them shining with a bright green light. Tiger showed that card to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare, send Thunder Tiger to the hyperspatial zone!"

The black tiger roared in pain as the green aura that surrounded it made it dissolve into mana crystals that were sent back into hyperspace through a small hole. All of a sudden, Tiger's hand glowed with the same green light as he drew his next card. The boy then tapped all of his mana cards and put both cards from his hand into the battle zone while saying:

"It's time for you to meet my deck's avatar!"

"I don't like the sound of this!" Subaru thought.

"I summon Yattare Pippi and evolve it into Quatro Fang, Burning Soul!"

A huge sumo-like warrior made of flames, with an X mark on its chest and the head of a tiger appeared behind Tiger and roared loudly at Subaru.

"Meet Tora, the one card that never let me down!" Tiger proudly said.

"That thing is huge!" Subaru exclaimed.

"And it will also be your downfall! Go, Tora, take down that pathetic excuse of a tiger!"

Quatro Fang jumped at Subaru's Thunder Blade and before the demon could use its swords to defend itself, the creature's fists destroyed it in a matter of seconds.

"Also, when Quatro Fang attacks, you must choose a card in your mana zone and send it to your graveyard and then I'll put the top card of my deck to the mana zone." Tiger explained.

Subaru simply tossed a Jenny, the Suicide Doll from his mana zone into the graveyard, afterwards watched how Tiger put the top card of his deck into his mana zone.

"Heh, let's see you get out of this one, almighty lion." Tiger mocked.

"This is about to get ugly!" Subaru said after he drew his next card that was Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and which he placed into the mana zone. "Meet my own deck avatar, I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V materialized behind Subaru and was face to face with Tiger's Quatro Fang.

"Oh look, the so called 'lion' has come. By the way, Subaru, in case you didn't know, a liger is a combination of a lion and a tiger." Tiger kept mocking.

"I might be, Tiger, but I also have the heart of a King! It doesn't matter the looks, the only thing that matters is the inside." Raion spoke to the blonde chosen duelist.

"Wow, pretty insightful speech, Raion." Subaru said.

"Insightful or not, his effect is useless against my Tora. And now I think it's high time I showed you who the boss is once again! I summon Rampaging Horse "Koku-Oh Version" and attack with Quatro Fang, break his final shields!" Tiger ordered.

The creature jumped once again and this time its fists' targets were Subaru's last two shields. The sounds of the shields breaking almost like glass pierce through the black haired teen's ears and made him back down. A shield shard cut his left cheek and another one his right hip. When the attack ceased and the shield shards united into two cards, Subaru stood still like a statue with his hair covering his eyes. Blood was falling from both wounds and he didn't seem to react to anything anymore.

"And now… it's your turn." Tiger finished.

"Could this be? Am I actually going to lose to him?" Subaru thought and then pictured in his mind the last time he had lost to Tiger in Hakuoh's classroom. "Could he actually be stronger than me?" the boy kept speaking his mind and then the image of Edo smiling to him and laughing appeared once again. "Edo-kun… help me! I'm too weak to fight anymore!"

A bright purple light came out of one of the two cards that were floating in front of him. Subaru turned his head up and was surprised when he saw what was in his last two shields. With a faint smile on his face, he took both cards in his hand and showed the glowing one to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit!"

"What the… impossible!" Tiger exclaimed.

"Destroy Quatro Fang!" Subaru continued and the same demonic black hands from earlier appeared and crushed Tiger's avatar with ease no matter how much the creature tried to oppose.

"Why you… You'll pay for this!" Tiger threatened.

"Actually, pal, it's you the one who will pay!" Subaru replied and showed the other card that he got from his hand. "My turn, I cast Miracle Re Born!"

A certain card that was glowing with a blue light jumped from the pile of cards from Subaru's graveyard and landed in the battle zone.

"I revive Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Subaru declared and a shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind him and screeched loudly. "Send Rampaging Horse back to his hand, Naruto Surfer!"

The creature surfed its way to the green centaur and hit it with the arm blades making it disappear, its card going back into Tiger's hand. The blonde teen began to get worried as he saw that Subaru once again took control of the field.

"Go, Raion, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and the blue lion slashed Tiger's last standing shield with its sword.

There was no shield trigger to be found in the last shield of Tiger's. And to make the situation worse, when he drew, he saw that his whole hand was awful. He had Apache Hyahho, Rampaging Horse "Koku-Oh Version" and Geo Crushing Miranda, the Dimensional Force. None of these cards could prevent both of Subaru's creatures from attacking, so in the end the blonde boy let the cards from his hand on the table and then raised both hands in surrender.

"Ok, I made a mistake when underestimating you." Tiger admitted defeat.

"Is that so? Then let's see how you feel sorry for threatening Edo-kun when you feel the blades of his creature cutting through your flesh!" Subaru ragingly said and put his hand on the Aqua Naruto Surfer card intending to tap it.

All of a sudden, an even brighter blue light came out of the card and it surrounded both Subaru and the two creatures behind him. When he opened his eyes, the black haired boy saw that he was at the sea with his feet standing on water and Liger Blade behind him. Aqua Naruto Surfer was sitting a few feet away from them and in front of the creature was none other than Edo.

"Oh my God, Edo-kun, is it really you?" Subaru exclaimed and rushed to him.

"Haha, Suby, long time no see!" Edo returned the enthusiasm and hugged his friend.

"But what happened? How did you…"

"Suby, I am just a spirit."

"Oh no, does that mean?"

"No no, silly, I am not dead. However, I came here because I had something very important to tell you."

"Something important?"

"Yes, Suby. Listen, you must stop being mean to Tamma, Luna and Tiger. I know that it's the hardest thing I'd ask you to do, but you have to move on!"

"I can't, Edo-kun, I simply can't!" Subaru refused and closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "It's just so hard to let go of what was once between us."

Edo suddenly grabbed Subaru's right hand and looked at him with a benevolent smile.

"Whatever happens, Suby, I'll always be here." Edo said and put his other hand on his chest.

"Edo-kun…" Subaru murmured.

"The Suby that I know would be happy that he has new friends while never forgetting of his old ones. Now prove to me that this Suby still exists!"

"Y-yes."

Edo then let go of Subaru and turned to Aqua Naruto Surfer and nodded to it. The creature shrieked loudly and Subaru woke up and saw that he was back at the plain and he was ready to give Tiger the final blow.

"Well, are you going to finish me already?" Tiger asked fearfully.

"Nah, I've already won the duel." Subaru responded and took his hand off the Aqua Naruto Surfer card.

The black haired boy walked to the blonde and towards the latter's surprise, he helped him up.

"What? But how?" Tiger asked dumbfound.

"Let's just say that it's the least I can do after acting like an asshole to you and the rest." Subaru answered and gave him a friendly smile.

In the next moment, both heard applauses coming from the UFO. They turned and saw that Tsugumi, Luna, Tamma and Nolan were all gathered at the entrance of the spaceship and had seen the whole duel.

"Guys!" Subaru exclaimed.

"You did it!" Tamma shouted. "You're our champion!"

"Fantastic duel, mister Subaru, I was truly impressed!" Luna complimented him.

"Hah, you still haven't lost the touch!" Nolan said and hi fived with him.

"I'm so glad that you're back!" Tsugumi spoke with the happiest voice out of them all.

"Yeah, and I guess that I owe Tamma, Luna and Tiger a huge apology." Subaru said and scratched his head while blushing.

"Apologize? For what?" Tamma asked confused.

"Oh, it's nothing, mister Subaru, in your situation I'm sure that I would've done the same." Luna politely spoke.

"Please, we're now teammates, call me Subaru." the black haired boy said to the blue haired girl and made her smile with surprise.

"Sorry, dude, but apology not accepted!" Tiger shocked everyone.

"Huh? How come?" Subaru asked.

"Oh, it's just that I want my rematch, haha!" Tiger laughed friendly to him.

"You got it, dude!"

"Guys, you won't believe it!" Atsuto's voice resounded from the UFO. "Edo has moved!"

Upon hearing those words, everyone remained stunned. However, Subaru quickly rushed inside the vehicle and went all the way to the hospital room along with Atsuto. Once they reached the room, they saw that Edo was still lying in bed.

"What move did he make?" Subaru asked.

"Look closely." Atsuto replied and pointed at the brown haired boy's face.

Even if it was hard to be noticed, a small smile appeared on Edo's face. It was a peaceful smile that made you sure that whatever was happening, he was sleeping well.

"Edo-kun… thank you. You've managed to save me from myself before it was too late." Subaru thanked his friend and let his tears of happiness fall on him.

And so the others got inside of the UFO and they threw a celebration party in honor of the new chosen duelist lineup. They ate, they danced, they played games, they dueled and basically had fun together.

But little did they know that outside of their spaceship a portal had opened, and out of it came Kaizer who was immediately followed by Shubham and a shirtless Alwyn dressed in a blue jacket and with white pants. The three gazed upon the UFO and then Kaizer's demonic laughter broke the silence:

"Hehehehehe, the chosen duelists are finally united."

"So this is where they're hiding, la?" Alwyn asked.

"Yes." Shubham confirmed and then turned to their leader. "So Kaizer, what's the plan?"

"Easy, we shall make the chosen duelists a little visit!" Kaizer calmly replied.


	7. Kaizer's attack

By 3 AM, the party was over and everyone was scattered around the UFO sleeping. Tiger was sleeping in his own room, Luna was sleeping on the kitchen table with her glasses off and holding a book in her hands like a teddy bear, Tamma was sleeping on the floor with drool coming out of his mouth, Nolan was sleeping on the couch, Atsuto was sleeping in the empty bathtub, Tsugumi was sleeping in her bed and Subaru was the only one awake. The black haired teen was trying to clean a part of the mess that was made by the party… and Tiger's rematch with him. Sure, he had lost to Tiger in the rematch, but this time it was a friendly match with no hard feelings.

Suddenly, two loud knocks were head coming from the entrance door. Subaru let go of the trash he was holding in his hands, stretched his arms and went to see who it was.

"I wonder who could be at this time of the night." the chosen duelist thought.

When Subaru opened the door, he saw a raging Shubham who immediately yelled at him:

"SURRENDER THE PROOF OR FACE THE WRATH OF…"

Before Shubham could finish his sentence, Subaru slammed the door in his nose.

"They really need to keep the zoo's cages locked at night." Subaru sighed.

Outside, Shubham was cursing the chosen duelist with anger.

"That's not how you do it." Kaizer intervened.

"Let's see you do better." Shubham challenged.

Suddenly, two even louder knocks came from the door. Subaru opened it once again and this time saw a man dressed in purple knight armor with spikes, a red cape and a horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull.

"Good evening, neighbor, we've just recently moved house here and were wondering if we could borrow a cup of your fantastic sugar and maybe the Proof of Duelmaster for just a few minutes?" Kaizer politely asked with his demonic otherworldly voice.

Subaru stared at him with an unimpressed look for a few seconds and then slammed the door in Kaizer's nose as well. For a few moments there was an awkward silence upon both Kaizer and Shubham, but then the door opened once again and revealed Subaru who said:

"Nice costume though."

Once again Subaru slammed the door.

"I guess we'll have to do it the hard way." Shubham said.

"That was the hard way." Kaizer replied.

Inside the UFO, Subaru was heading back to the party mess that he had to clean. It seemed that the two figures from outside did not scare him even a bit. Either that or he was too tired to realize what was actually going on.

"Who was out there?" Tiger's voice resounded in the corridor.

"Tiger, I thought you were asleep!" a surprised Subaru exclaimed. "Oh nothing, just my old 'friend' Shubham and a freak dressed in a Halloween suit asking for the Proof."

"Are you sure they're not posing a threat to us?"

"I don't think so."

In the next moment, the UFO's door got molten and then Kaizer entered the spaceship being followed by Shubham and Alwyn.

"You were saying, Subaru?" Tiger angrily asked.

"Ok, I was wrong. Sheesh, as if you've never made mistakes!" Subaru defended himself

Kaizer and his two minions approached the two chosen duelists and Subaru and Tiger took defensive positions.

"So this where chosen duelists live? Pretty fancy, la." Alwyn commented.

"Trust me, there's more than meets the eye with this place." Shubham stated.

"Who are you?" Tiger demanded.

Kaizer stopped in front of the two and let them gaze upon his armor for a few moments. After a few moments of tensioned silence, the demonic voice came out of the armor's helmet and brought shivers down both duelists' spines:

"My name is Kaizer and I have come to you chosen duelists because I am in need of an object called the Proof of Duelmaster."

"Sorry, pal, but the Proof isn't a random thing that we give to every stranger that we meet!" Tiger straightly spoke.

"And besides, what do you want with it?" Subaru added.

"I want the Proof to show me something and after that I promise that I will return the gem unharmed." Kaizer responded.

A bright green light came from Tiger's right hand. The blonde showed his deck to Kaizer and everyone understood that it meant 'no'. Then six purple glowing spheres appeared behind Kaizer and rotated around the armored villain. He reached his right hand and grabbed one, making it turn into a deck. The other spheres disappeared.

"Why do you heroes always want everything to resume to a battle?" Kaizer asked and then turned around and calmly walked to exit of the UFO.

"What are you doing?" Tiger asked.

"I want to have our duel outside. Inside it would just complicate things."

And so it all ended up to that. Tiger and Kaizer were outside of the UFO on the grassy plain sitting in front of two dueling tables. Shubham and Alwyn were sitting a few feet away from Kaizer and cheering their master whereas Subaru was sitting at what used to be the front door of the UFO with his arms crossed and watching the duel.

"Let's do this!" Tiger exclaimed while the two cards in his mana zone tapped themselves. "I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage!"

A tiger like armored humanoid with a laser gun for its right hand appeared behind Tiger.

"Break his shield, Taiga!" Tiger ordered and pointed to one of Kaizer's shields, the humanoid aiming at it with its gun and blasting it.

The blast broke the shields in many pieces and the shield shards hit Kaizer. However, his armor was stronger than them and the shards got scattered into even smaller ones. Kaizer raised his hand in the air and the shield shards united into a card which he grabbed.

"I summon Drilling Squito." Kaizer said and a red spider like bug with a drill between its six legs appeared floating behind him.

"I summon Yattare Pippi!" Tiger said and a black parrot with green wings and a flame horn in the front of its head appeared behind him. "Taiga, break another shield!"

"I block with Drilling Squito."

After Kaizer's response, Drilling Squito flew in front of Taiga before it would attack and then it stuck its drill inside the humanoid's body. Taiga tried to resist and shot the bug, making it blow up. However, it had inflicted damage upon him, so Taiga fell wounded and disappeared.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll." Kaizer said and a brown eyeless puppet equipped with guns and bullets appeared behind him. "Now you must discard a card from your hand."

"Tsh…" Tiger murmured and tossed Jasmine, Mist Faerie to the graveyard. "Now I have only one card left in my hand."

"Indeed, his rush has cost him dearly and Kaizer-sama's defense took him by surprise." Shubham commented.

"Seems like the poor fellow doesn't know what he's up against, ah." Alwyn added.

"I'm not done with yet!" Tiger insisted. "I summon Rampaging Horse "Koku-Oh Version"!"

A green centaur with ram horns, who was wielding a sword appeared behind Tiger and roared loudly.

"Yattare Pippi, break his shield!" Tiger ordered.

"Block the attack, Zabi Barrel." Kaizer said as calm as ever.

The brown doll jumped in front of the parrot which was intending to attack. The doll began to shoot the bird with its guns but the bird also pierced through it with its horn, both being destroyed from the attacks.

"I summon Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon." Kaizer did his turn.

A horned red devil with metallic claws instead of hands appeared behind him.

"Huh? He also uses fire? Darkness and fire small creatures… I wonder what he is planning. Oh well, I have to keep rushing on him to win the duel before he pulls anything fishy." Tiger thought after he placed the top card of his deck to the mana zone due to Rampaging Horse's effect. "My turn, I summon Silver Shovel and send it to the mana zone along with your Fuuma Bajir!" Tiger said and watched how both mentioned creatures turned into mana crystals. "Rampaging Horse, break his shield!"

The green centaur rushed at Kaizer and with a mighty swing from its sword took down another shield of his.

"I think it's time we got serious." Kaizer said after he drew the top card of his deck and began his turn. "I summon Deadly Fighter Blaze Claw. Also, grave evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death."

"Huh? He uses grave evolutions?" Subaru said surprised.

"Death March, take down Rampaging Horse!" Kaizer ordered and the creature did as it was told and killed Tiger's centaur.

"Trying to use small guys on me, eh? Well, it's time to bring out the big guys!" Tiger said and showed the card he drew. "I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and put Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ into the battle zone!"

A white bipedal wolf warrior wielding a fire sword appeared behind Tiger. Its might scared the likes of Shubham and Alwyn who chose to back down even more to be far away from it.

However, Kaizer was the least bit intimidated. He simply drew his next card, charged mana and then, all of a sudden, a bright red and purple aura surrounded one of the cards from his hand. Both Tiger and Subaru felt a strange energy in the air and realized that something bad was about to happen.

"Vortex evolution!" Kaizer shouted and the two cards from his battle zone shined with red and purple lights and went one under the other as he placed the card from his hand that was shining even stronger upon the two. "Zero Phoenix, Phoenix of Darkness!"

The two creatures of Kaizer's jumped into the air and united as a powerful light came out of them. When the light was gone, everyone saw a giant crimson red and dark purple phoenix that had long wings and was wielding two swords, each with three blades, shaped as forks.

Tiger's and Subaru's jaws dropped at the sight of the magnificent creature. However, Shubham and Alwyn were cheering Kaizer even louder than before.

"You wanted me to bring out the big guys, I did it. Now, Zero Phoenix, send two of his shields to the graveyard!" Kaizer ordered.

Zero Phoenix screeched so loud that it almost made Tiger's and Subaru's ears bleed, then it swung both its swords and took down two of Tiger's shields with them. The shield shards united into two cards which fell into Tiger's graveyard, the cards being Natural Snare and Great Hercules, Giant Insect.

The situation wasn't bright at all for Tiger. His opponent had a creature that could send his shields to the graveyard and while he was depending on his draw since he had no cards in hand. At least he had Jin in his battle zone. But sadly for him, the next card that he drew couldn't help him that much.

"I summon Apache Hyahho… and put Chain Arm Tribe into the battle zone." Tiger said rather disappointed. "Jin, double break his shields!"

The white bipedal wolf slashed two of Kaizer's shields with its fire sword, but those shields quickly regenerated and he showed one of the cards in those shields to Tiger while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate. I destroy Apache Hyahho and revive Zabi Barrel, Western Doll."

"Crap!" Tiger thought.

"Now it is my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy Chain Arm Tribe. Afterwards I put Gil Polymer's Pliers and Zabi Polymer, Marshmallow Doll into the battle zone. Zero Phoenix, send two more shields to the graveyard!" Kaizer ordered and the phoenix repeated its sword attack and got rid of two more shields of Tiger's.

This time the cards that went to Tiger's graveyard were Hyperspatial Red Green Hole and Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord.

Tiger was in a rather pathetic situation, and he hated it. If there was anything he didn't want to experience, that was the feeling of being weak. And right now he felt that way, he was basically at the mercy of Kaizer and the only thing that would save him was the top card of his deck… if he would just draw something good! But once again, the draw was rather disappointing.

"Tsh, I summon Silver Shovel and… send it to my mana zone." Tiger said.

"I send Zabi Barrel to my mana zone." Kaizer replied.

"Jin, break his final shield!"

The white wolf warrior jumped in the air and with an impressive move of its arms slashed Kaizer's last shield. However, losing all of his shields didn't seem to move Kaizer at all. The more Tiger attacked him, the stronger he seemed to become. Kaizer calmly took the card from his shield to his hand and simply showed it to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~."

Two demonic black hands came out of nowhere and grabbed Tiger's creature, smashing it in a matter of seconds.

"The time has come to end this." Kaizer declared. "Psychic Link – Don Marshmallow, Hand of Temptation! And grave evolution – Death March, Reaper of Death!"

"Yes, Kaizer-sama now has three creatures, whereas Tiger has just one shield!" Shubham pointed out.

"Go, Kaizer-sama, beat stupid chosen duelist, la!" Alwyn cheered.

"Death March, break his final shield!" Kaizer ordered and the creature attacked Tiger's last shield and ripped it to pieces.

When the shield shards united into the card that was lying in his shield, it stood right in front of Tiger's eyes and he was shocked to see that it was Quatro Fang, Burning Soul.

"Tora…" Tiger mumbled.

"You are finished, chosen nature duelist!" Kaizer said and put his hand on a card from his battle zone, intending to tap it. "Zero Phoenix, Phoenix of Darkness, todo…"

"WAIT!" a shout suddenly stopped everyone.

Subaru walked out of the UFO towards the evil Kaizer while giving him a stare filled with anger and vengeance.

"You want the Proof? Fine, here is the Proof!" Subaru said and showed the blue gem. "But whatever you do, don't harm my friend!"

Upon hearing those words, Kaizer took his hand off Zero Phoenix and waited. Subaru stopped a few steps away from him and tossed the Proof. Kaizer grabbed it and nodded to the black haired boy, afterwards snapped his fingers and made all of his creatures disappear and the cards arrange themselves back into the deck that turned into a purple sphere and disappeared.

"Subaru, you idiot, why did you give it to him?" Tiger shouted.

"Let's say that I couldn't stand to watch another friend of mine getting destroyed." Subaru replied.

"His… friend." Tiger murmured with surprise.

Kaizer walked away from the dueling table that disappeared back into the earth. The armored being went to Shubham and Alwyn who congratulated him for the victory.

"So, boss, what do we do now?" Alwyn asked.

"Now… we begin our quest!" Kaizer said and the Proof shined with a bright blue light. "Proof of Duelmaster, I ask you, show us where our journey to the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta starts!"

A beam came out of the gem and pointed to a hill nearby. Afterwards the light disappeared and the Proof did not give them any other response.

"Perfect, that is where we are going." Kaizer said and then walked to the two chosen duelists.

"What do you want from us now?" Tiger asked.

Towards their surprise, Kaizer tossed the Proof back to them and the blonde was the one who caught it.

"Thank you." Kaizer politely said and turned around.

"Wait, you're not going to use the Proof for some evil deed?" Subaru asked.

"No, as I said, I just needed it for a few minutes. And as I promised, I gave it back unharmed. Thank you once again."

Subaru and Tiger stared dumbfound at Kaizer as he and his two minions walked away and disappeared in the horizon.

"Just what the hell was that?" Tiger asked.

"I honestly have no clue." Subaru answered.

After walking for 15 minutes, Kaizer, Shubham and Alwyn had reached the small hill at which the Proof's beam pointed. Even though it was rather dark and the two teens couldn't see much, Kaizer sensed that there was something powerful lying on the hill. He climbed it on his own and looked around until he found a card lying on the grass. He leaned and picked it up, and then he saw that it was a multicolored card belonging to the Water, Darkness and Fire civilizations. Also, it was a 7 mana, 12000 powered creature that was a Dragon.

"Gallows Deis Dragon, Sea Wizard Dragon…" Kaizer read the card's name.

A black smoke came out of the card and took the shape of a woman with long curly hair. Two red lights were shining on what was supposed to be the head, symbolizing her eyes.

"Who are you?" Kaizer asked.

"I am Tabitha Lenox." an old woman's voice came out of the smoke.

"The powerful witch… Tabitha Lenox?"

"Yes, and you must be Kaizer."

"How do you know of my name?"

"Oh, we've got a lot to talk about, hahaha!"

In the next morning at the UFO, the chosen duelists were discussing about what happened last night. And in that moment the prevailing question was what were Kaizer's intentions with Devil Diabolos Zeta.

"So guys, basically you are saying that a guy dressed in a weird armor came to the UFO and kicked Tiger's butt, took the Proof and used it to find something, then gave the Proof back and left?" Luna asked.

"Yes, that's what happened." Tiger said, ashamed of himself for losing.

"And the reason you guys didn't wake us up to help you was…" Tsugumi added.

"We didn't want to bother your sleep, hehe." Subaru sweated.

"Come on, you should've kicked that Rayzer guy to kingdom come!" Tamma insisted. "I wanna go and show him how to duel!"

"First, his name is Kaizer, and second, I don't think that you could be a match for him, Tamma." Tiger intervened.

"Aw, come on, I wanna have a piece of him!"

"The problem is that we don't know where he might be now. All that we know is that he is on a quest to find Devil Diabolos Zeta." Subaru said.

"But Subaru, didn't Last Storm Double Cross seal Devil Diabolos Zeta in that pool of lava on the beach after the Zeta Wars?" Tsugumi reminded him.

"He did, but from the looks of it, that might not have been the end of that monster."

All of a sudden, a white portal opened above the table at which the five chosen duelists were sitting. While they were staring at it in awe, a teenage boy fell out of it and landed right on the table. Luckily for him, there wasn't any food on it. When the portal closed, they saw that he had dark brown spiky hair, green eyes and was wearing clothing that showed that he was coming from a rich family. The chosen duelists stared at him with amazement and soon came their reactions.

"IT'S YOU!" Subaru and Tsugumi exclaimed amazed.

"Who is this guy?" Tiger and Luna asked.

"What a freak." Tamma remarked.


	8. First encounter

Even though it was morning, Shubham and Alwyn were still sleeping on the grassy ground, for the previous night had been tiresome for both. Kaizer on the other hand was sitting on a rock and talking to the Gallows Deis Dragon card in which lied Tabitha's spirit.

"So, Tabitha, how exactly are you still here? From what I've heard, Kokujo had killed you for good over a week ago." Kaizer said.

"Indeed he did, my armored friend, however I had anticipated my death." Tabitha explained. "You see, when I last came back to life, I brought a minion of mine known as Hanna back to life as well through a spell that cut half of my lifetime, so I knew that my curtains would soon be pulled. However, I did not want to let all my hard work be in vain. I hid Devil Diabolos Zeta in a temple, and as you well know, I've also created a map to that temple and tore it to five pieces."

"But why did you do that? Maps are for leading people to certain things, why would you create one and then destroy it?"

"That's because, my dear Kaizer, I expected that someone would want to find Devil Diabolos Zeta and use it for their evil deeds. And if they were to do that, then finding the map pieces is going to be a test for them. If they pass it, they'll prove that they truly are worthy of Devil Diabolos Zeta's power."

"So you mean… that I have to find the map pieces to prove that I am worthy?"

"Exactly."

"But how am I going to find them when I don't know where to begin in the first place?" Kaizer asked.

"This is where I play my role." Tabitha intervened. "I will guide you to the place where the first map piece is hidden. Once you have the first piece, it will lead you to the second, and so on. You see, when I scattered the five pieces, I didn't place them randomly in the world. I placed a piece to a place where the trail of the previous piece ends and so on. Once you find the last piece, you will know where the temple is lying."

"So basically, this map is like a puzzle."

"Indeed!"

"But Tabitha, a long journey awaits me, how are we going to handle it by walking on foot and teleportation?"

"You need a vehicle, Kaizer, and I will make sure that you get it!"

Tabitha's ghost suddenly pointed to the sky with her right hand and said:

"Fire a laser beam right now!"

Kaizer did as he was told and a red laser beam rose to the heavens from his left hand. When the beam faded away, he noticed that something was slowly descending from the sky. After a few moments he saw that it was a UFO. The flying saucer landed a few feet away from him and then a hole appeared in its wall and out of it a stair descended. Suddenly, a short being climbed down and Kaizer could see that it was bipedal, its skin was gray, it was bald, its skull was bigger than those of humans, its face seemed sucked into its skull, it had huge black eyes and its body was very thin, almost skeletal like.

"What is that?" Kaizer asked surprised.

"That… is your new ally." Tabitha gladly answered.

At the UFO the five chosen duelists were stunned to see an unexpected visitor pop out of a portal all of a sudden and land on their table. The spiky haired teen dressed in rich clothing got up from the place where he landed, closed the portal and then turned to them and said:

"Hey guys, long time no see!"

"Robert, what the hell are you doing here?" Subaru shouted with amazement.

"Oh hey Subaru, my buddy!" the boy named Robert exclaimed and put his hand on the black haired teen's shoulder. "How's it going, pal?"

"Me? I'm fine… until I saw you appearing out of nowhere into my kitchen."

"More like falling out of nowhere." Tamma pointed out.

"Just who is this weird stranger?" Luna asked while sweating.

"Oh, he's a friend of ours." Tsugumi replied. "And yes, it's a long story."

"Then it better be a good long story." Tiger said and sat down on his chair. "I'm listening."

"Alright then, my name is Robert and I come from 50 years in the past." the boy introduced himself as the chosen duelists sat back on their seats."

"Boy, here we go." Tiger thought while trying to hide the fact that he had already gotten bored.

And thus Robert began to tell Tamma, Luna and Tiger who he was and what was his connection with the chosen duelists. He was an orphan that had the luck to be adopted by a rich woman. Once she died, he got her fortune but his king and generous nature wasn't changed by the influence of money.

One day he decided that he wanted to host a Duel Masters tournament in his city, but to make it more interesting, he went to the Tibetan mountains and learned from the monks their secret powers of time traveling and thus he was able to invite strong duelists from different eras to join. Subaru and Tsugumi received the invitation not long after the burials of their friends. With the invitation they also received a potion that would heal Edo's wounds for the time he was with them in year 2050 at that tournament. In other words, those who joined the tournament were Subaru, Tsugumi, Edo, Nolan, Atsuto and Shubham, because back then Shubham was still neutral. Besides them, old foes such as Tabitha, White, Toto and the now good Hanna had been invited at the event. Basically the tournament was a normal Duel Masters event, except that psychic creatures were not allowed since Robert viewed them as too powerful for the game.

Everything culminated with some of Robert's enemies disrupting the event who were lead by Tigra. For those who didn't know, Tigra was the leader of a secret organization known as THEM whose sole purpose was the revival of their master Zakira. She was brought to the tournament by the power of the Proof and the gem said that her only way back was by sacrificing a life for it. Knowing that her purpose was to cause chaos in the tournament, Tigra allied herself with Robert's old foes and together they stopped the tournament. Then Tigra's Volg Tiger held Robert's crush Alexandra as a hostage and the evil girl asked for Robert's trump card and deck avatar Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord in return. Robert agreed and offered the card but then Tigra ordered Volg Tiger to crush Alexandra and the creature obeyed its master. Angered over the death of his crush, Robert called out Ballcadeias and the creature returned to his hands. However, Tigra escaped since she fulfilled her promise to the Proof.

Meanwhile at Kaizer, the armored duelist was sitting face to face with the mysterious being that came out from the shiny spacecraft.

"Identify yourself!" Kaizer requested.

The alien being fired two white beams out of its huge black eyes and scanned Kaizer. When the process was over, the alien began to speak in English to him in a rather weird accent:

"Inhabitant of Earth, I am an intergalactic being that has traveled through the cosmos in my search of a master worthy of my services. I am known by no name, but the one who manages to defeat me and become my master will be allowed to call me whatever they like."

"Interesting… in that case, prepare to get a name!" Kaizer said and clenched his fists, ready to engage in combat.

"Oh please, I thought you could summon creatures into this world through the power of a 40 card deck." the alien replied and showed a Duel Masters deck towards Kaizer's surprise.

"Oh, I can do that too."

Six purple glowing spheres appeared behind Kaizer and rotated around the armored villain. He reached his right hand and grabbed one, making it turn into a deck. The other spheres disappeared.

"I challenge you to a duel!" Kaizer said and two dueling tables rose from the ground.

"I accept!" the alien replied and put its deck on the table.

And so the duel between the two began.

"I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet." the alien said and a yellow sphere that had mouths with sharp teeth appeared behind it.

"I charge mana and end." Kaizer said.

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

A white baby alien driving a sphere shaped robot appeared behind the duelist alien.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!" Kaizer said and a red fire bird with a small crown on its head appeared behind him and chirped a battle cry.

"I summon Deis Bulldozer." the alien said and a golden robot appeared behind it. "Gaga Pikarian, break his shield!"

The alien piloted its robot towards Kaizer's shields and made it use its small arms to hit and break one of his shields. Kaizer took the card in his hand, then began his turn, charged mana and said:

"It's time to finish this!"

"What are you talking about? You've just reached your fourth turn." the alien spoke surprised.

"And I will still win!" Kaizer replied and showed a nature spell and a fire spell while tapping two of his mana. "I cast Faerie Gift and make the next creature I summon cost 3 mana less, then I also cast Whirlwind Tailspin and make the next creature I summon cost 1 more mana less and speed attacker!"

"You've reduced your next creature cost by 4 mana and turned it into a speed attacker as well?"

"Yes, and Cocco Lupia reducing its cost by 2 more mana… I gladly introduce you to my trump card!"

Kaizer tapped one darkness mana and the proudly lifted a card in the air which shined with a bright purple light as a horned knight dressed in purple armor with red cape and wielding two laser guns appeared behind him.

"I summon Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye!" Kaizer declared.

The cards from Kaizer's deck lifted up one by one until one of them fell into his graveyard, that being Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike.

"With Romanoff's effect I put Romanoff Strike into my graveyard. And now since I turned him into a speed attacker, I attack with Romanoff the 1st!" Kaizer announced and pointed at the alien. "Double break his shields and cast Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike!"

Romanoff the 1st aimed its left gun at the alien's three creatures and by the power of Magic Shot – Romanoff Strike he destroyed them all. Afterwards he aimed his other gun at the alien's shields and took down two of them with its blast.

"Cocco Lupia, break his shield!" Kaizer ordered and the fire bird flew through the alien's middle shield and took it down as well, leaving the being from outer space only with two shields left.

Back at the UFO, Robert had finished telling his story and was now waiting for reactions from the three chosen duelists.

"And let me guess… the reason you came here was so you can find Tigra and have your revenge upon her?" Tiger asked with a bored voice.

"Yes, you guessed right." Robert answered.

"This just couldn't be more cliché." Tiger sighed and stretched his hands.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Robert shouted at him.

"Oh nothing, just the usual 'I've come to avenge X' thing. You know, I was hoping for an interesting story, but this…"

"Tiger, that's not very nice of you!" Tsugumi fought back.

"Yeah, you don't know what poor Robert's been through!" Subaru defended him.

"Do I look like I give the slightest damn? We're human beings; we all have our hard times." Tiger coldly said and then got up from his seat and walked to the door. "Listen, you can do whatever you want, I don't care, just don't stand in our way, ok?"

"How could I stand in your way?" Robert curiously asked.

"Let's just say that we're on a mission and we don't have time to babysit vengeful kids."

And with those words being said, Tiger disappeared in the corridor.

"Forgive him, that's just his way of saying 'welcome to the UFO'." Subaru said to Robert.

"Oh it's nothing, not that I haven't met guys like him before." Robert calmly spoke.

"Anyway, I bid you welcome to our home, Mister Robert." Luna said and respectfully bowed. "My name is Luna and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, miss!"

Robert kissed Luna's hand and the girl blushed so hard that her face looked almost like a tomato.

"He's still the same ladies man we know." Tsugumi whispered to Subaru.

"Just look at Luna, she's beyond flattered." Subaru whispered back.

"Hmph, I don't like him a bit!" Tamma suddenly burst.

"Tamma, not you too!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"His whole hot shot attitude is getting on my nerves! Plus… that spiky hair is so last century! Mine's better!" Tamma insisted.

"You clearly have no idea what you're talking about, shrimp!" Robert responded. "My hairstyle is filled with class and is much better than anything you'll ever pull out!"

"Oh really? Then why did your fancy hair gel make it seem like you have a hedgehog on your head?" Tamma countered.

"No hair gel in the world will ever be able to fix that pathetic excuse for a flame that is on your head!" Robert stroke back.

"Wanna bet on it?" Tamma asked and showed his deck.

"You're damn right I do!" Robert responded while showing his deck as well.

"God… they're so immature." Tsugumi remarked.

"To have a duel over a stupid argument… Gosh, Robert, I didn't know you had the mind of a 10 year old." Subaru added.

Meanwhile at the duel between Kaizer and the alien, it was now the alien's turn.

"I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and put Alien Father (Just 1 Song?) into the battle zone." the alien said. "Alien Father makes all my Aliens slayers, so let's see you counter my slayer blocker Cebu Algol."

"A piece of cake." Kaizer said and tapped 3 mana then showed a darkness spell card. "I cast Killer Kusari-gama, choose one of your untapped creatures and destroy it!"

"I destroy… Alien Father."

"Romanoff the 1st, attack and cast Killer Kusari-gama to destroy Cebu Algol as well! Now break his final shields!"

Once the alien's creatures were gone, Romanoff the 1st fired lasers from both its guns and took down the alien's last two shields. Luckily for the being from outer space, one of the cards from the shields shined with a blue light and the creature showed it to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Spiral Gate, send Cocco Lupia back to your hand!"

"I end my turn." Kaizer said after the fire bird disappeared in a spiral of water and its card went to his hand.

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and put Gaga Sirius, the Temporal into the battle zone!" the alien said and a giant grey metallic battle ship with mouths which emanated dark blue smoke appeared behind it. "Gaga Sirius is a 12500 powered blocker, let's see you pass this!"

"Heh, game over!" Kaizer declared and showed yet another darkness spell card. "I cast Infernal Smash and destroy Gaga Sirius!"

"No!" the alien yelled.

"Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, todomeda!"

The horned knight aimed its gun at the defenseless alien and unleashed its laser beam upon the creature.

But just as a duel finished, another had just begun. At the UFO, Tamma and Robert were dueling outside on the grassy plain in the cold November weather and Subaru, Tsugumi and Luna were watching from the warm and safe place of the UFO corridor.

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and a humanoid dressed in a black metallic armor that had mouths with flames appeared behind him.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Robert said and made Tamma discard Vorg, Ogre Puppet.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi! Vorg, Brawler of Hell, break his shield!"

The humanoid rushed at Robert and hit one of his shields with its powerful armor, tearing it to pieces. Robert calmly watched how his shield got destroyed, then as the shield shards united into a card, he took it to his hand and began his turn.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Robert said and revealed the top 3 cards of his deck which were DNA Spark, Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. "I take all 3 to my hand and then I use Gravity Zero and summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight for free!"

"I summon Gett, Infernal Friendship and with its effect I destroy Bloody Shadow! Now go, Vorg and Super Go On Pippi, break his shields!" Tamma ordered and both his creatures quickly attacked and took down two of Robert's shields after his Bloody Shadow was blasted to pieces by Gett's attack.

"Heh, shield trigger, I cast Hades Death Gate, destroy Gett and revive Jenny, the Suicide Doll!" Robert said and then a black gate appeared and opened itself revealing black tentacles that ended in hungry mouths which devoured Tamma's humanoid, then retreated and made Jenny come out of the gate. "I destroy Jenny and discard another card from your hand!" Robert continued and put the card to his graveyard, making Tamma discard Super Infernal Gate Smash, the last card he had in his hand.

"Oh no, it looks like Robert is getting control of the zone!" Luna noticed.

"Once he does that, Tamma won't be able to handle what he's cooking up." Subaru added.

"Poor Tamma, his rush won't work against Robert's counter now." Tsugumi commented.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Chief de Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Aquan Jr's Delivery to my hand." Robert said and a robotic white knight wielding a bulldozer ball appeared behind him while he took the water spell card to his hand. "It's your turn now."

Tamma sweated hard. Robert made him lose all cards from his hand and depend on his draw, all while ensuring his safety with a blocker. If Robert began to build a strong defense, he was doomed for. However, Tamma didn't lose hope. He drew his next card and sighed with relief when he saw what it was. Then the boy regained his confidence and placed the card on the table while saying:

"I evolve Super Go On Pippi into Wrath of God! Valborg Now! Go, Valborg Now, break his final shields!"

Towards everyone's surprise, Robert didn't block Tamma's attack and let his creature take down both his shields. But just as the attack was finished, a sly grin appeared on Robert's face that brought panic into Tamma.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Vorg back to his hand!" Robert said and a blue surfer appeared out of nowhere and hit Tamma's humanoid with its surfboard making it disappear. "Heh, now it's my turn, I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top 3 cards from Robert's deck were Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, he taking all three to his hand.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, and now it's your turn."

Towards Tamma's bad luck, the card he drew was Hades Death Gate. Not having enough mana for using it, Tamma simply put it into his mana zone and then said:

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell! Wrath of God! Valborg Now, finish him off!"

"Block the attack, Chief de Baula!" Robert ordered and both said creatures battled and got destroyed. "Now it's my turn, I cast DNA Spark!"

A light that resembled a helix fell upon Tamma's dueling table and tapped his Vorg, Brawler of Hell card and then fell upon Robert's dueling table and granted him a new shield. Now it was Tamma's turn and he again had a bad draw – Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist – a creature for which he didn't have enough mana to summon, so he placed it in his mana zone and ordered:

"Wrath of God! Valborg Now, break his final shield!"

The creature aimed its gun at the teen's last shield and blew it to smithereens. However, a blue light shined out of it and another blue surfer came out of it.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Vorg back to his hand!" Robert said and watched how the blue surfer hit Tamma's creature and bounced it back once again.

"That's it, Tamma's done for." Tsugumi said.

"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let Tamma duel him. Robert's too powerful and Tamma still has a lot to learn about kaijudo dueling." Subaru thought.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Robert said.

"Why isn't he attacking? Is it because he's preparing something big? But what could it be?" Tamma asked himself while looking at a card from Robert's hand that was emanating beams of darkness. "Whatever it is, I gotta defeat him quickly!"

"It's your turn." Robert invited.

"I know, I summon Mach 5 Swan, the Tempestuous and Vorg, Brawler of Hell! Go, Valborg Now, finish it!"

"Predictable…" Robert commented and showed a darkness card from his hand. "Ninja strike 7 – Hanzou, Menacing Phantom! Give -6000 to Valborg Now!"

"Oh no!" Tamma exclaimed as his creature blew up. "Grr, Mach 5 Swan, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow! Well, Tamma, how do you like it now? Am I still a freak, you little brat?"

"Yes, yes you are!" Tamma arrogantly replied.

"Well then, this freak will show you how to duel! I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy one of my Aqua Surfers and your Vorg!"

Tamma watched with amazement how the black demonic warrior slashed both their creatures. Now it was his turn, he drew a card and was disappointed to get Deadly Love. That spell couldn't help him at all since he didn't have any creature left, so he placed it in his mana zone and ended his turn.

Suddenly, Robert's hand glowed with a bright purple and yellow light. The boy selected one certain card in his hand and gracefully placed it upon his Olzekia card while 7 mana cards tapped themselves.

"Say hello to my deck avatar, Tamma, I evolve Olzekia into BALLCADEIAS, DIVINE DEMONIC LORD!"

Olzekia's body cracked open and a blue-skinned goat demon with 3 pairs of hands, 3 pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white came out of it and stared down upon its owner's opponent.

When Shubham and Alwyn finally woke up, they were shocked to see that they were lying on the metallic floor of what seemed to be a strange spacecraft. They panicked and looked around to see that they were in some sort of strange laboratory that was decorated with high tech computers and tubes containing chemicals.

"Shubham, this must be a dream! Pinch me, la!" Alwyn said while sweating.

"Oh, it's no dream; it's just our new home." Kaizer said and appeared in front of them.

"Kaizer-sama, how did we end up in here?" Shubham asked.

"Let's just say that while you were sleeping I've gotten my hands on a new ally." Kaizer said and introduced the cosmic being to whom the UFO belonged.

"What's that thing, ah?" Alwyn asked.

"You may call me… Alien." the being from outer space said.

Back at the duel between Robert and Tamma, the situation didn't look bright at all for the chosen fire duelist. Ballcadeias fired a beam and killed every creature in the battle zone except for itself and then at Robert's order it also fired a laser ball that took down three of Tamma's shields. It was a very unlucky day for Tamma, the cards from his hand were Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist, Genocide Kaiser and two Terror Pits. Basically nothing he could do would help him escape the situation he was in.

"I'm guessing that victory is mine." Robert declared after putting two more cards in the battle zone. "I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and evolve it into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia! Go, Queen Alcadeias, break his final shields!"

Tamma lied his head down in shame as the shield got broken into big shards, some of which hit him. The shield shards united into two cards which were Genji Boy and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil.

"It's over!" Robert said with a victorious grin on his face and put his hand on the other untapped card from his battle zone. "Ballcadeias, todome…"

"DON'T DO IT!" Subaru's scream stopped him.

Subaru suddenly rushed out of the UFO and went at the gloomy Tamma.

"Tamma, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" a concerned Subaru asked.

"Subaru, I've disappointed you…" Tamma spoke with a saddened voice.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I've lost an important kaijudo duel… as the chosen fire duelist. I'm not worthy of fighting by your side!"

"Silly, it was just a friendly match…"

In the next moment, Tamma quickly packed up his cards and ran off to the UFO with tears falling from his eyes. Subaru stared at him with a worried look on his face while Ballcadeias and Queen Alcadeias disappeared into thin air.

"Heh, seems like I still got it." Robert said after packing his cards. "Hey Subaru, do you think I can spend the night over here?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure, as you wish." Subaru mumbled while still staring at the UFO inside which Tamma disappeared.

Grief stricken and affected over the loss, Tamma locked himself up in his own room and looked angrily at the deck that failed him. He just couldn't get out of his mind the bad performance that he had made that day and how Robert had humiliated him in front of his own idol.

"It's not fair!" Tamma sobbed.

In the next moment a darkness card fell out of the box where he kept his cards. The ten year old leaned to grab it and saw that it was Leon Diez, the Lion King, a card that Subaru gifted him during the party from the other night as a sign of friendship.

"Leon Diez…" the red haired kid whispered.

All of a sudden, the card began to glow with a bright purple aura and the boy could see the image of a demonic lion staring at him while revealing its sharp teeth.


	9. Lion

In a lonely bar on a silent gloomy night there were few people gathered. The few thugs sitting on the tables and drinking beer right out of the machines were rather tired and were not in the mood to pick up a fight. Everything was calm. Better said, everything was too calm.

As the bartender was waiting for his robot to finish cleaning the glasses, he noticed a strange figure walk into the building. Since the lights were rather faint, he couldn't distinguish much besides the fact that it was a girl in her late teens.

"Anything you want, missy?" the bartender asked before the girl could stop in front of him. "It's kinda late at this time of the night for you to be all alone in this kind of place."

"Oh yes, I do want something." the girl spoke with an enthusiastic voice and stepped into the brightest light so that everyone could see her.

The girl was wearing a golden futuristic dress that was rather short at the upper levels, high heels and had her blonde hair messed up to look like a mane. A small hairpin with the head of a lion was being stuck in her hair, being hardly noticed unless you saw her closer. Also, her blue eyes belonged to those of a ferocious predator that was ready to strike in any moment.

"And what does the cute little lady want?" a drunk adult of about 40 years barely said.

"Trouble!" the girl replied with a sly smile on her face and showed her dueling deck.

Tamma spent the rest of that day locked in his room. Not even the calls of his friends to dinner made him leave his self-imposed prison. The boy felt beyond terrible. He had lost to Robert and was now viewing his deck weaker. If his deck was weak, that meant that he was weak, and what's worse, that meant that he wasn't worthy to fight by the side of the chosen duelists. Or at least that's what he was thinking.

"I suck! I don't deserve to be a chosen duelist!" Tamma said and kicked the wall in a fit of rage.

"Why are you so harsh on yourself, little Tamma?" a demonic growled voice came out of a card lying on the floor.

"Who said that?"

Tamma leaned down and saw that the card was once again glowing with the purple aura as before. However, this time a hologram of the demonic grey lion appeared in front of him.

"A-are you…"

"Yes, Tamma, I am Leon Diez, the Lion King." the creature spoke to the amazed boy with the same deep growled voice. "I have come to help you with your problem."

"What do you mean my problem?" Tamma asked.

"You desire to have a stronger deck, am I right?"

The boy gulped and nodded to the creature.

"Good. Then allow me to help you!"

In the next moment, the lion turned into a black smoke and attacked Tamma. The boy didn't even have time to scream for he was knocked unconscious.

After just 15 minutes the whole bar went on fire. The drunk thugs were all lying defeated with cards on their bodies while the mysterious blonde girl was facing off the bartender.

"And now it's time to finish this! Codename Orewaleo, todomeda!" the girl commanded.

The golden armored angel with six white wings waved its hands and created a shiny green ball out of which it casted a laser upon the bartender, blowing him off. The girl then victoriously walked to a table, took a cup of beer and walked out of the burning building. As she took a sip, the girl thought:

"Hah, those retarded drunks were just too easy; I was expecting a true challenge since they say that men are stronger when they're on alcohol. Tsh, at least I got myself a free beer."

Then a strange wind blew. The blonde lowered her hand so that her dress wouldn't be lift up by the strong wind while her mane got even messier. Suddenly, a UFO appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of her. She was so shocked that she dropped the cup of beer on the ground. A stair descended out of it and in a few moments Kaizer appeared and climbed it down, ending up face to face with her. After that the wind stopped.

"Just who the hell are you?" the girl asked while staring with amazement at Kaizer's spiky armor.

"I am Kaizer. It is a pleasure to meet you… Leona." the armored person said.

"How did he know my name?" the girl spoke in her mind, shocked.

"I have come to bring forth an offer to you." Kaizer continued.

"An offer? Go on."

"Leona, I ask you to join me on my quest of finding the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta."

"Woah, woah, woah, just a minute, pal. Why would I even join you in your kooky quest? What will I gain from it?"

"I expected you will say that." Kaizer said while crossing his arms. "I'm guessing you know that your reputation as a rogue duelist has become well known. Rumors say that you travel from town to town, picking on the strongest duelists and humiliating them in the worst way possible."

"I guess my reputation precedes me. If you know so much about me, mister big horns, then how come you don't fear me yet?" Leona asked, her voice showing that she was starting to gain some confidence.

"I know that you view most of the world, especially men, as inferior to you in every way, and that you are out there to find a challenge, that's why you are a wanderer." Kaizer continued and then stretched his armor's metallic arm to the blonde. "Join me and you shall find the challenge that is worthy of you!"

Leona stared at Kaizer with rather shy eyes. Even she couldn't believe that she was nervous, for rarely you would catch her in that state. In the hand that Kaizer had pulled out she saw a new path, a much more organized travel compared to her years of random wandering, a chance for finally facing strong opponents, for she knew that with guys like Kaizer there would always be serious trouble, and with serious trouble there would always be some hero to rise against him.

"I accept!" Leona exclaimed and suddenly grabbed Kaizer's hand. "You may lead the way to the glorious adventure!"

"Indeed." Kaizer spoke back and led the girl inside the spaceship.

At the chosen duelists' UFO, since it was almost midnight, everyone was asleep except for Subaru and Tiger who were sitting in the kitchen. Subaru was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate at the table while Tiger was sitting by the window and staring at the starry sky. For a few moments there was only silence in the room, but Subaru was the on who broke it once he finished the cup.

"Say Tiger, why are you not that fond of Robert?"

"It's not him that bothers me, but his presence." Tiger answered and turned to Subaru. "Listen, very soon we will leave on our mission to find out what Kaizer's plans are, and the last thing we need is another person to put more weight on the UFO."

"But Tiger…"

"No buts, Subaru! Atsuto and Nolan are enough of a pain, but yet another guy just won't do, no matter how much he can help us."

"Why are you so pessimistic all of a sudden?" Subaru asked.

"That's because Kaizer is a dangerous bastard and our lives will be put in danger, and I don't want us chosen duelists waste our time saving others' lives when we got a battle to concentrate on. The way I see it, besides us we should have just one more person to inhabit the UFO just in case we need to protect it and that's that."

"I understand your view, Tiger… But the thing is…"

Before Subaru could finish his sentence, Tamma suddenly burst into the kitchen. The boy was being surrounded by a black aura and his iris's color had changed from green to deep dark red. Both teens sensed that something was wrong with the ten year old.

"Tamma, what are you doing up so late?" Tiger asked.

"Subaru, I've come to ask you something." Tamma ignored Tiger and turned to the black haired boy.

"Can I help you with something?" Subaru asked with a rather defensive tone.

"Yes, would you be kind to join me on the hill? I have something to discuss with you."

Tiger looked at Subaru with a stare that told him to be careful and the black haired chosen duelist nodded to him. Subaru then took Tamma's hand and walked with him out of the UFO. Once they disappeared, Tiger hid in the shadows and secretly followed them.

And so Subaru and Tamma walked on the grassy field in the dead of the night and then climbed the hill that was closest to them. It was the same hill where Subaru and Shubham had their showdown. Once they reached the exact spot where that duel took place, Tamma took out his deck which shined in the darkness and made two dueling tables rise from the ground.

"Tamma, what's going on here?" Subaru demanded an explanation.

"Fool, this is not Tamma you are speaking to!" a demonic growled voice came out of the little red haired boy's mouth.

"Then who are you? Show yourself right now!"

"It will be a pleasure, Subaru Geki!"

Suddenly, a hologram of Leon Diez, the Lion King appeared in front of Subaru. The boy was astonished when he saw the mighty demonic lion.

"Aren't you happy to see me, Subaru?" Leon Diez asked.

"B-but how?" Subaru spoke with confusion.

"Hehehe, you made a big mistake when you tossed me to Tamma like I was a pile of garbage, Subaru. I am not the kind of creature to ignore!"

"But what was I supposed to do with you, Leon Diez? I had two of you in my deck, but the Leon Diez card that was my avatar evolved into Liger Blade, a.k.a. Raion. In that situation I just added another Liger Blade and took you out since there wasn't any more space."

"WHY DID YOU DO IT? I WAS HELPFUL, I WON DUELS FOR YOU!" Leon Diez roared at him.

"To be perfectly honest… your effect simply didn't fit my deck!" Subaru fought back.

"Yeah, and I never liked your temper either!" Raion added and appeared as a bigger hologram behind Subaru.

"You stay out of this, you traitor, this is between your master and me!" Leon Diez said to Liger Blade.

"Leon Diez, release Tamma, he has nothing to do with this petty argument of ours!" Subaru requested.

"Hahaha, I beg to differ!" Leon Diez replied and walked to the boy with spiky red hair that was standing still like a statue. "Little Tamma has been complaining that he had gotten weaker recently, so I offered to help him build a better deck. Now how about we test this deck out?"

"You creep…" Raion said with disgust.

"Fine, I accept your challenge!" Subaru said and took out his glowing deck. "But on the condition of you freeing Tamma if I win!"

"And if I win, your body will be mine and I will have access to your collection of darkness cards! Then I will be the strongest duelist to ever exist!" Leon Diez added.

"Deal!" Subaru agreed. "Let's do this!"

Leon Diez turned into a cloud of smoke and entered Tamma's body once again, animating it. Both duelists put their decks on the table, deployed their shields, drew their cards and thus their duel began.

"I summon Vorg, Ogre Puppet!" Tamma said and a dark purple doll with horns and that was wielding a huge mace appeared behind him.

"I charge mana and end." Subaru said while simply placing Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons into his mana zone alongside Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Hades Death Gate.

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Tamma said and put the top 2 cards of his deck to the graveyard, which were Terror Pit and Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil, and then he placed the card he used in his mana zone and tapped the only card in his battle zone. "Vorg, break his shield!"

The puppet threw its mace at Subaru's shields and it went through the middle one, tearing it into pieces. The mace returned to its owner and the shield shards united into a card that went into Subaru's hand.

"My turn, I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma!" Subaru said and placed the card on his table, the creature represented on it appearing behind him.

"Hah, I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress! And now… I end." Tamma said with Leon Diez's voice.

"Galaxy Falcon makes all of his Hunters speed attackers, but why isn't he attacking? He has a slayer, whereas I have a blocker." Subaru thought and then drew his next card, charged mand and said. "I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Three cards from the top of Subaru's deck floated in the air and revealed themselves as Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger and all went to his hand.

"My move!" Tamma declared and quickly placed the card he drew in his mana zone and tapped all six mana. "I summon… Leon Diez, the Lion King!"

All of a sudden, a black smoke came out of Tamma's body and the boy fell unconscious on the ground. The smoke quickly turned into the gray demonic lion that roared loudly to the moon and brought shivers down Subaru's spine.

"Now that that brat is out of the way, it's just you and me, Subaru Geki!" Leon Diez said and gazed upon his opponent with angry eyes. "Now that Galaxy Falcon makes me a speed attacker, you are soon doomed. Any last words?"

"You're so pathetic, Leon Diez." Subaru stated. "You've tricked poor Tamma into thinking that you'll help him and then used him to face me and gain what? Revenge for the fact that I took you out of my deck because I wanted to move on?"

"Don't play smart with me, human!" the lion threatened.

"I made you a favor and gave you a new owner, Tamma, who is eager to combine Fire and Darkness and in whose deck you'd fit, but all you care is to be the 'greatest creature ever' in my deck. God, I didn't know you're such an attention whore!" Subaru scolded the creature.

"SILENCE, PITYFUL HUMAN!" Leon Diez roared and attacked two of Subaru's shields.

Three cards from Tamma's deck fell onto his graveyard, those being Experience the Miracle! Re Born Kaiser, Genocide Kaiser and Gett, Infernal Friendship. Then Subaru's Maxval and Cebu Aquman Jr blew up as Leon Diez's paws slashed two of his shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer!" Subaru said and the blue surfer appeared out of the shards of one of his shields and hit Vorg, making the doll disappear. "I'm not down yet, you whiny cat! I summon two Drilling Squito and attack with Aqua Surfer, break his fortified shield!"

Aqua Surfer dashed through the air and hit the shield that had the card of Galaxy Falcon on it, shattering it to pieces and making the card fall into Tamma's graveyard.

"Even without my Galaxy Falcon you are still doomed!" Leon Diez declared and then used its yellow horns to draw a card from Tamma's deck and put the two cards into the battle zone. "I summon Vorg, Ogre Puppet and Heehaw, Caterpillar Rider! Leon Diez, attack!"

The lion once again roared and jumped towards Subaru while three cards fell into Tamma's graveyard, this time those cards being Super Infernal Gate Smash, Hades Death Gate and Vorg, Brawler of Hell, meaning that all of Subaru's creatures got only -1000 power. Still, Leon Diez repeated his paw attack and Subaru's final shields were taken down.

"Heh, shield trigger!" Subaru said while putting a grin on his face. "I cast Inferno Sign and revive Maxval!"

"What could that pathetic move help you with?" Leon Diez arrogantly asked.

"With this!" Subaru continued and tapped six mana. "I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger!"

"No, this can't be!" the lion exclaimed in fear.

"Destroy Leon Diez, Thunder Blade!"

A demonic tiger warrior with black armor and two purple swords appeared in the battle zone and slashed the grey lion, but the creature turned into smoke and returned once again into Tamma's body, the child getting up once again.

"You won't get rid of me that easily, Subaru Geki!" Leon Diez threatened through Tamma's body.

"Whatever you're smoking there, pal." Subaru mocked.

"Tsh, I cast Deadly Love and destroy Heehaw and one of your Drilling Squitos!" Tamma said and watched how both creatures blew up. "Then with Heehaw's effect I return Experience the Miracle! Re Born Kaiser to my hand. Vorg, Ogre Puppet, finish him off!"

"Block the attack, Drilling Squito!" Subaru ordered and both creatures battled to death. "My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and put Volg Thunder into the battle zone. Then I destroy Aqua Surfer and put Thunder Tiger into the battle zone."

By Volg Thunder's effect, Tamma's deck was milled, the cards that went to his graveyard being Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, Straight, Fighting Ogre, Inferno Sign, Terror Pit and Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist.

"Grr.. you're going to pay for this one! I summon Experience the Miracle! Re Born Kaiser!" Tamma said and a red armored dragon with a horn on its forehead appeared behind him and roared.

"It's over, Leon Diez!" Subaru declared. "Psychic Link – Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast! And to make things better, meet one of my newest creatures, I summon Death Six, Ruthless Prince!"

A bone demon with red horns, dressed in a purple armor, with a red cape and a green sword that stretched like a whip appeared behind Subaru.

"What is that thing?" Tamma asked.

"Death Six is an 8000 powered double breaker Demon Command/Hunter that destroys all creatures with cost 6 or less when summoned!" Subaru explained and then watched Death Six cut down Re Born Kaiser with its whip sword, only to turn the same weapon against Maxval. "Now I attack with Volg Tiger and discard the only card left in your hand!"

The card that was discarded was Genocide Kaiser, and since its cost was 5 it allowed Subaru to revive Maxval, Electro-Fuuma. Then Volg Tiger slashed two of Tamma's shields with its purple swords.

"Thunder Blade, break his final shields!" Subaru ordered and the demonic tiger warrior did the same thing as Volg Tiger, leaving the possessed Tamma shield-less.

"No, this can't be happening!" Tamma exclaimed while staring at the cards from his hand which were Experience the Miracle! Re Born Kaiser, Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist, Bone Dance Charger, Genocide Kaiser and Leon Diez, the Lion King. "All these cards… they're not worth a penny against his powerful creatures! No, I can't end like this!"

All of a sudden, Leon Diez jumped out of Tamma's body and tried to attack Subaru directly with its jaws and paws. However, Raion came out of the Liger Blade card that Subaru was holding in his hand and blocked Leon Diez's attack with its swords.

"Alright, pal, enough is enough. If you want hurt my master, you'll have to go through me first!" Raion threatened the vengeful lion.

"Stand aside, you blind fool, I'll make sure that I will reach my destiny!" Leon Diez continued.

"I think it's high time someone tamed this lion!" Raion said bored and attacked Leon Diez with both swords.

Leon Diez dodged Liger Blade's attack and backed down a bit. As an act of defense, the grey lion revealed its sharp red jaws but Raion was the least intimidated. The bipedal blue lion aimed at Leon Diez with both swords and both engaged in combat. However, before they would collide, Tamma's voice was heard saying:

"RAION, TAKE THIS!"

In the next moment, Tamma threw his Ogre Beater card at Liger Blade and once the card touched the creature, it surrounded it with a bright red aura that powered it up. With that acquired power, Liger Blade managed to defeat Leon Diez's defensive attacks and slash the lion in four pieces, making the creature disappear in its screams of agony. With the enemy gone, Raion sighed and disappeared back into its card as well.

Subaru ran to Tamma who fell on his knees and stared at the ground in shame.

"Tamma, are you alright?" the black haired teen asked and put his hands on the ten year old's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I've ruined everything!" Tamma apologized and then turned to Subaru. "Come on, say it, say that I'm a shame to the chosen duelists, that I'm a failure, that I'm not strong enough, I'm ready, say it all!"

"Tamma… what you've done tonight and the way you've helped Raion fight Leon Diez… All I can say is that I couldn't have asked for a better teammate." Subaru smiled to the little boy.

"What, are you serious? But I screwed up badly and…"

"We all make mistakes, Tamma, but there was once a brown haired boy that told me this – true friends forgive easily each other's mistakes and stand by their side no matter what. Now tell me, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't do that?"

"You're truly the best person I've ever met…" Tamma said while wiping his tears.

For a moment there was silence between the two, all they did was to stare at each other.

"Well, I guess we should be going back now." Subaru suddenly suggested and was about to turn around.

"Say, Subaru, is it ok for tonight… if I call you big bro?" Tamma asked and hugged him tight as he let the streams of tears fall.

"Sure, Tamma, I'm your big bro." Subaru responded and hugged him as well.

And so Tamma fell asleep in Subaru's arms. The black haired boy packed up both their decks and then carried the younger red haired boy on his back all the way to the UFO while the moon's rays were shining upon them.

Meanwhile, sitting on the other side of the hill was Tiger, who had witnessed everything. He put his hands in his pockets, looked at the moon for a moment as the wind was blowing through his blonde hair and sighed. Then he decided that it was late and headed back to the UFO as well.


	10. The calm before the storm

At Kaizer's UFO, the armored duelist was presenting his new recruit to the rest of his minions. It seemed that they didn't like Leona that much. Shubham simply gave her a cold welcome and walked to a corner, whereas Alien gave her a short bow and went back to his work. However, Alwyn's reaction was different.

"Wow, you one hot girl, la!" Alwyn exclaimed, making Leona blush.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Leona asked with surprise.

"I like pretty girls in short dresses, ah. I also like pretty faces. Let's be together, la!"

Alwyn was about to give Leona a strong hug, but then the girl made a step back, leaving him float in the air for a moment, and then she kicked him in the stomach with her elbow, the hit being so strong that he was thrown against a metallic wall.

"What a moron…" Shubham whispered to himself.

"Don't touch me, you creep!" Leona shouted at the hurt Alwyn.

"HEY, WHY YOU SO MEAN? I ONLY WANTED A HUG!" Alwyn yelled back.

"Then go and find yourself a hooker, for I'm not the one to show emotion, especially to losers like you!" Leona countered.

"ALWYN THE ONSEN IS NO LOSER! YOU CRAZY BITCH, LA!" Alwyn kept yelling while getting up.

"Tell it to those who fall for it." Leona mocked him.

Alwyn took out his deck that glowed with a bright red light. Shubham pushed himself against the wall and watched with interest what was going to happen. Alien kept his work, ignoring what was happening. Kaizer simply stood there, seeming to not care of anything that was going on.

"I challenge you to a duel, mad girl!" Alwyn declared.

"It seems to me that you're the mad one, haha." Leona kept mocking him and walked to the dueling table that was lying close by. "I accept your challenge!"

Both duelists put their decks on the table, set up their cards and thus began their match.

"I summon Yattare Pippi!" Alwyn declared and put the card on the table and waited for the creature to appear, but it didn't. "Why no appear, la?"

"Kaijudo duels can't be played on a normal dueling table; it needs to be split in half." Kaizer explained.

"Heh, that means that you won't end up dead at the end of the duel." Leona added while placing a card on the table. "I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation."

"We'll see about that, ah! Yattare Pippi makes my Hunters cost 1 mana less, so I summon Apache Hyahho!" Alwyn said and then he looked in the cards from his hyperspatial zone and placed a multicolored one that belonged to the Fire and Nature civilizations in the battle zone. "I put Bishamon Kid in the battle zone with Apache Hyahho's effect. Yattare Pippi, break her shield!"

Leona took the shield Alwyn attacked in her hand, then drew her next card, charged mana and put another creature in the battle zone while saying:

"I summon Deepsea Dober. And then... I end."

"You weak against my rush, la! Time to finish this, I summon Bukkomi Hedgehog!" Alwyn said and then he tapped another card on his battle zone. "I attack with Bishamon Kid, break her shield!"

"Heh, Bishamon Kid has Hunting and gets +1000 for each Hunter you have in the battle zone, thus increasing its power from 3000 to 7000. I won't block." Leona calmly said and took another shield card into her hand.

"You signed your losing petition! Apache Hyahho, break another shield!" Alwyn continued, but once again was surprised that Leona didn't block.

"Time to get serious – shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!" Leona said and a bright light fell from the ceiling and tapped all of Alwyn's creatures in the battle zone, afterwards she put the top card of her deck to the shield zone. "It's time for the Lioness to show her fangs – I cast The Strong Spiral and send Bishamon Kid back to the hyperspatial zone."

"Not good."

"Then since Murmur gives +3000 to all my blockers, Deepsea Dober has 6000 and The Strong Spiral lets me draw a card. And now I summon yet another Murmur, Apostle of Formation."

"She managed to form a good defense against his rush." Kaizer thought.

"Murmur, attack Yattare Pippi!"

"I destroy Bukkomi Hedgehog and the attack is canceled!" Alwyn said while putting the mentioned card in the graveyard. "Now it's my turn, I summon Silver Shovel and send Apache Hyahho to the mana zone!"

"I send Murmur to my mana zone. And I'm guessing it's now my turn."

"Your turn, ah." Alwyn announced and watched Leona draw a card.

"Ok, I summon Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom!" Leona said and then drew another card. "Lord Reis allows me to draw a card for each blocker I put into the battle zone. Now it's your turn."

"That thing won't help you much, I cast Natural Snare and send Lord Reis to the mana zone!"

"I beg to differ, that mana that you gave me actually helped me!" Leona said and tapped six mana. "I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards, then I summon Yuppal, Binding Guardian and tap Yattare Pippi! Murmur, attack Yattare Pippi!"

"That not nice, la. I summon Silver Shovel and send it to the mana zone." Alwyn said and placed the card first in the battle zone, then in the mana zone.

"I send Yuppal to the mana zone. Heh, I expected more of you, but it seems that you cannot pass my defense, little fellow."

"Shut up, crazy bitch, your blockers will be destroyed, ah!"

"We'll see about that. Oh and by the way, thanks for all the mana you gave me, it's really helpful in this situation." Leona mockingly said while tapping the nine mana cards. "I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon!"

"Wait a minute, you have 9 mana and both cards cost 5, meaning you have to pay 10 mana for them! You cheating, la!" Alwyn exclaimed while pointing at the blonde girl.

"Fool, Deepsea Dober makes all my creatures with Command in their race cost 1 mana less, and guess what, HEIKE Double Cross is an Angel Command."

"You make me angry! I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Deepsea Dober and Perfect Madonna!"

"Think again, pal! When Perfect Madonna would leave the battle zone, if its power is greater than 0, it stays in the battle zone instead!" Leona said with a satisfied grin on her face and she placed only Deepsea Dober in her graveyard. "My turn, I summon Byoito, Holy Cyber Protector and end."

"I've had enough of you, bitch! I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole!" Alwyn said and then he placed in the battle zone a fire creature from his hyperspatial zone. "Then I put Immortal Boost, Crimson Lord in the battle zone!"

"I think it's time I showed you my trump card!" Leona said while putting a confident smile on her face and tapping seven mana cards. "I summon… Codename Orewaleo!"

A golden armored angel with three pairs of white wings appeared behind Leona as a hologram, making Alwyn back down a bit.

"Codename Orewaleo enables to attack all my blockers that cannot attack." Leona explained with pride. "However, I won't attack just yet."

"No attack means that you lose soon, ah!" Alwyn replied. "I summon Apache Hyahho and put Bishamon Kid in the battle zone! Next turn I'll psychic link and then it will be over for you, arrogant slut!"

"I think I've had enough of you insulting me for one night!" Leona declared and then she placed a light card on one of the other cards in her battle zone. "I evolve Perfect Madonna into Wiz, White Knight Enlightener! Go, Wiz, double break his shields!"

A light wave came out of her card and pushed two cards from Alwyn's side of the table, making him take them into his hand. Sadly for him, there were no shield triggers.

"Codename Orewaleo, double break his shields!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare, send Byoito to the mana zone!" Alwyn said.

"Then I end my turn and untap Wiz. It's your turn, pal, come and get me!" Leona provoked him.

"Time to finish you once and for all – Psychic Link, I unite Bishamon Kid and Immortal Boost, Crimson Lord to create Explosive Dash! Masashi, Crimson Sabre!" Alwyn declared while linking the two cards and flipping them to reveal a bigger creature that was formed out of the two of them. "Then I summon Fist Ace, the Meteoric and two Shooting Exedrive! You finished, kitty cat!"

"We shall see, my ball-less friend!" Leona kept mocking.

"That's it, I've had enough of you, la! Explosive Dash! Masashi, break her last shields!"

An energy wave came out of the psychic linked creature of Alwyn and that wave pushed Leona's last three shield cards up in the air, the girl quickly taking them all in her hand. Then she grinned and showed one of them to Alwyn while saying:

"It's over indeed… for you! Shield trigger, I cast Counterattacking Silent Spark and tap all of your creatures!"

"NO, THIS CAN'T BE!" Alwyn yelled and watched how all the cards on his battle zone got tapped once again.

"Wiz, break his final shield!" Leona ordered and Alwyn took the card in his hand, which was Yattare Pippi. "Codename Orewaleo, todomeda!"

Alwyn fell on his back defeated. Kaizer applauded Leona for her victory and then spoke to his minions:

"Now that our newest member has shown us all her skills, it is time for us to begin our quest!"

"Everything is ready, Kaizer-sama, I just need the exact coordinates to the place where we must go." Alien said.

"I like how it's all going." Tabitha's ghost said to Kaizer while appearing in front of him. "Don't worry, you're the only one who can see me. Now that your team is complete, tell Alien to set coordinates for mount Mayon in the Philippines. That's where the first map piece lies."

Kaizer nodded to the ghost and did as he was told. Thus in a few moments, the UFO had begun its journey to the Philippines.

The next morning, while the sun was rising, everyone was sleeping inside the UFO of the chosen duelists. However, two figures were standing outside of it in the morning breeze. Those were none other than Subaru and Tamma, the teenager with slightly long black hair wearing his usual black T shirt with the darkness civilization symbol, a pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of black and white sneakers, whereas the young boy with spiky red hair was wearing a white martial arts kimono and a pair of futuristic sandals.

"So, Tamma, why did you want me to come here by sunrise?" Subaru asked.

"It's because… last night when I saw Raion take down Leon Diez with the help of my Ogre Beater, I couldn't help but think that Fire and Darkness would actually work great together." Tamma said.

"You mean…"

"Yes, I want the both of us to train together. This… if you wouldn't mind."

Subaru looked at the rather shy Tamma who was begging him with his stare. The black haired teen's response was a smile and a nod. All of a sudden, Tamma's face showed a big and excited happiness. The little boy jumped in the air and cheered loudly.

"YAHOO! I DID IT!"

"Well, it seems we both have lots to learn from each other, so I am more than eager." Subaru said to the kid. "So, where do we begin?"

"First of all, your looks aren't fitting!" Tamma spoke straightly and made Subaru sweat.

"Um… what is wrong with my looks?"

"Hold on a minute, Subaru, I'll fix you up!"

Tamma rushed in the UFO and let Subaru wait for him for a few minutes. When the boy came back, the black haired chosen duelist saw that he had a red piece of material in his right hand and a bottle with hair gel in his left hand.

Before Subaru could react, Tamma jumped on his back and pushed him on the ground. Subaru tried to resist, but Tamma's force was bigger much towards his surprise. The red haired child poured the hair gel on his right hand and then his fingers began playing with Subaru's black hair.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Subaru protested.

"Gimme a few minutes, it'll be done soon." Tamma responded.

After five minutes of struggle, Tamma had finished his job. The boy then pulled out a mirror from his pockets and gave it to Subaru. When he looked in the mirror, the chosen darkness duelist saw that the hair on his scalp was raised up in spikes exactly like Tamma's haircut and that he also wore a red headband.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" Subaru yelled.

"You look awesome!" Tamma exclaimed.

"I look like a monster!"

Subaru pulled the upper side of his T shirt to cover up his head, but Tamma pulled it back and spoke to him:

"Come on; don't be ashamed, your new look rocks!"

"And the purpose of this whole thing is…" Subaru demanded an answer.

"Why to help you train, of course! Now you look like you're ready to kick some butt!" Tamma said excitedly.

"If you say so… Anyway, how are we supposed to begin the training?"

"First we must train our bodies so that we can endure the hits of a kaijudo duel."

Tamma went back in the UFO and this time the boy brought different martial arts training equipment. Firstly he put a brick on two small pillars and turned to Subaru to speak:

"I will concentrate my whole energy in my hand and use it to break this brick in two."

Subaru crossed his arms and watched the boy. Tamma closed his eyes and all of a sudden his right hand got surrounded by a bright red aura that seemed like a flame. The red haired kid suddenly raised his arm in the air and yelled:

"HAYA!"

In the next moment, the flaming hand dashed through the air and hit the brick, practically cutting through it. Subaru stared at him with amazement.

"Haha, that was fun to do." Tamma laughed and wiped his hands. "Say, Subaru, wanna try as well?"

"Um, Tamma, I'm not sure I can…"

"Don't worry, it's easy!" the red haired insisted and pushed Subaru in front of the small pillars, then put another brick. "All you have to do is to concentrate your kaijudo energy in your hand and then hit it. Come on, I know you can do it!"

Subaru sighed and then stared at the brick for a moment. Then he looked at his right hand and saw that some small purple sparks began to ignite. The black haired teen closed his eyes and felt his kaijudo energy slowly enter his hand as a purple aura began to shine around it.

"That's it, he's gonna do it!" Tamma thought.

Subaru lifted his hand in the air while keeping his eyes closed and when he felt he was ready, he yelled 'HAYA!' and did exactly what Tamma did earlier. However, the thing that broke was not the brick, but a bone of his hand. Suddenly, Subaru screamed in pain as loud as his lungs let him.

Meanwhile at the UFO, Nolan was drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen while watching the usual boring morning news on TV. Soon he was joined by a rather tired Robert whose hair was no longer spiky, but really messy.

"Hey, long time no see!" Nolan saluted and took another sip.

"Indeed, it's been a long time, Nolan." Robert said while taking a seat.

Nolan answered with a nod and turned his head to the news. Sadly for him, it bored him quickly. It was the usual political debate, sports news and weather forecast. Occasionally there would be a documentary about the latest technological discovery or some historic event, but that was all that the news of the future offered.

Sighing, Nolan took the remote control and closed the TV. Then he turned his attention back to Robert and said:

"From what Tsugumi told me, you came here by time traveling, huh?"

"I did." Robert smiled.

"Haha, and from what I've heard, you came to avenge Alexandra, right?" Nolan continued.

"Yes, Tigra will pay for what she did to her!"

"You're not the only one who's suffered at the hands of Tigra."

"Oh really? What did she do to you then?" Robert asked.

"She killed my brother and all my friends." Nolan said with a voice filled with sorrow and this time Robert was even more surprised. "Ever since then, I swore that I'd avenge them one way or another. That was one of the reasons I joined the chosen duelists."

"And what might the other reason be?"

"Let's just say that they're cool guys to hang out with, haha."

"You're right about that one, haha."

And so Nolan and Robert discussed about what happened ever since Nolan and the others left Robert's tournament and returned to their time. After Robert was updated to everything that was going on, Nolan put on a serious face and said:

"Listen, what would you say if we worked together to bring down Tigra?"

"I'd say that's an awesome idea!" Robert exclaimed happily.

"Good, because I think that alone we have lesser chances of bringing her down." Nolan added and held out his hand. "Partners?"

"Partners." Robert answered and shook his hand. "Tigra won't know what hit her!"

"Yeah. Listen, Robert, I've got info about an ex THEM member that quit their group a long time ago, gave up dueling and decided to pursue a calm life."

"Where did you find this info?"

"Oh, I have my sources." Nolan said while giving Robert a confident look, and then he searched in his pockets and offered him a piece of paper. "Here you have his address and name. I'd like you to go and have a talk with him. But be careful, Tigra might still be watching over him."

"Don't worry, you can count on me!" Robert replied and took the piece of paper. "When should I go?"

"I'd say before lunch. You'll have a long way to go. Oh, and by the way, we'll keep in contact by phone."

"Sure. But, Nolan, what will you guys do in the meantime?"

"I don't know, I'm guessing we'll go after Kaizer soon."

"Ok, then good luck!" Robert wished him and rushed to his room to pack his stuff.

"You'll need it more than me." Nolan thought.

Outside, Subaru's and Tamma's training continued. After Tamma put Subaru through some harsh martial arts training, it was Subaru's turn to train him. The black haired teen put on a black metal song from his MP3 player, precisely: 'Axe' by the Korean band Sad Legend. When the vocalist shrieked loudly and the guitars and drums began to make noise Subaru started head banging like no tomorrow and doing the air guitar. He even moved his head like a windmill. Once the song was over, Subaru turned to Tamma and he seemed like he was the same besides a little sweat on his face.

"Now you do the same." Subaru told him.

"Are you sure?" Tamma asked.

"Positive!"

Subaru put another song by the same band and invited Tamma to head bang. The young boy did so, but he also walked uncontrollably while doing it, and he ended up banging his head to the UFO wall.

"No, Tamma, that's not how you do it!" Subaru intervened and stopped the MP3 player.

"That was… awesome." Tamma said while falling on the ground due to the dizziness.

And so more time passed and the other inhabitants of the UFO woke up. They all met up in the kitchen and Nolan explained to them that Robert decided to go on his lone path for a while. Tsugumi also told the rest that Subaru and Tamma were busy with training and they should not bother them. At the hearing of this news, Tiger sat down and began to think what their next move should be.

"Guys, I have so fascinating news!" Luna intervened and opened her laptop to show them all on its screen an image of a UFO moving fast through the Earth's atmosphere. "They just said on the internet news that this strange spacecraft was heading with the speed of 600 miles/hour towards the Philippines."

"Kaizer!" Tiger suddenly got everyone's attention. "Who else would be driving a UFO with that irregular speed?"

"I don't get it. Why would he head for the Philippines?" Tsugumi asked.

"That's what we're going to find out!" Tiger said and turned to the girls. "You tell Subaru and Tamma to quit playing and come in so that we can begin our quest!"

Just as Tsugumi and Luna were about to head out of the kitchen to fetch them, Subaru and Tamma came in with messy clothes and two glowing decks in their hands.

"We did it, we've both updated our decks!" Tamma said. "All that hard training paid off!"

"Indeed it did, now we're ready to fight evil!" Subaru added.

"Wow, Subaru, what's with the new look?" Tiger asked.

"It's… very nice?" Luna tried to compliment.

"And fabulous!" Atsuto joined Luna.

"Uh, you see, guys, Tamma said that in order to train I have to wear this headband and have my upper hair raised up and…" Subaru tried to explain.

"Subaru!" Tsugumi strictly intervened. "Tonight when we're in bed, you won't comb your hair, nor will you take off that headband!"

"Um… may I ask why, my love?"

"I find you very… how shall I say… sexy?" Tsugumi said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Seriously, your new look rocks!"

"Oh God, how can she be turned on by that?" Subaru asked in his mind and sweated.

"Ok guys, we'll keep the fun stuff for later, right now we've got a Kaizer to catch!" Tiger brought everyone back to reality.

"Alright, let's do it!" the others chanted in unison.

Atsuto and Nolan headed to the control room and made the UFO fly off the plain, away from the city, to head into a new adventure. Meanwhile, the chosen duelists went to their rooms to prepare their decks for the battle as well.

"Adventure is calling once again and inevitably we will answer its call." Subaru thought and then stared at his Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger card. "Get ready, Kaizer, because we're coming!"


	11. Atsuto in chains

Over the past hundred years, people have found fit to create a futuristic village around mount Mayon that would not only serve for touristic purposes, but would also use its protective barrier system to shelter its inhabitants in case of an eruption.

On a fine sunny morning, the chosen duelists' UFO made its land at the entrance of the village that was located nearby the active volcano. Out of the spaceship walked the five chosen duelists and Nolan, leaving Atsuto to guard the vehicle until they would return. They entered the village and decided to spread out on three different paths, thus having Subaru and Tsugumi go to the left, Luna and Tamma go to the right and Tiger and Nolan heading on the front path.

Subaru stretched his hands and put both his palms on the back of his neck walking in a relaxed position.

"Ah, this is the life! This tropical air is amazing!"

"Indeed, the forests I've seen on our way are beautiful as well." Tsugumi replied. "It's been some time since we've traveled together to such exotic places."

"You're right; we've been so busy these past months." Subaru reflected. "We've barely had some time to share, except for the nights spent together in bed."

"Yeah… Maybe after we find this Kaizer character we could spend some quality time here."

"Great idea, Tsugumi! Maybe we could visit the volcano together and watch the whole valley from its highest peak."

"So romantic…"

Tsugumi grabbed Subaru's right arm and held it tight while he put his left hand in his pocket, and thus the couple resuming its journey that way, with a few villagers giving them weird looks.

At the other side of the village, the duo made of Tamma and Luna was trying to concentrate on finding Kaizer but got distracted as well. Tamma was amazed by every house or strange object that he saw and would rush to curiously analyze them, thus making poor Luna play the role of a babysitter than that of a hero.

"Wow, Luna, look at that!" Tamma exclaimed and pointed to a gray insect. "What a weird bug!"

"If my eyes do not deceive me, this is a click beetle." Luna replied while putting her glasses on.

"Click beetle? It lives in that little arrow inside the computer?"

"No, no, silly, it's got nothing to do with computers."

"Then why call it 'click' beetle?" Tamma insisted.

"I have no idea, but it is indeed an interesting specimen, I daresay." Luna said and took out her cyber notebook and her electric pencil. "It's time to take down some notes!"

Luna leaned down and examined the bug that innocently stared at her. Its fragility made the blue haired girl smile in sympathy.

As for Tiger and Nolan, the two had managed to fit in the crowd that was wandering in the city and thus were able to search undercover for anything strange. Though Nolan felt that Tiger was treating him in a rather cold matter, so he tried to strike up a conversation while they were walking on the sidewalk:

"Say Tiger, from what I've heard, you were pretty much the cool guy of your school. Why did you decide to leave the place where you were the best to join us in our adventures and put your life in danger?"

"Tsh, when you'll find the answer to that question, maybe I'll think higher of you." Tiger said with a tough voice.

"Wow, he surely likes to talk a lot." Nolan thought.

Meanwhile, at the UFO, Atsuto was sitting at its entrance, licking his lollipop and smelling a red rose in the same time. Since the others were gone and there was no more craze, he could finally relax a bit, though he didn't completely let his guard off.

"Ah, what a fabulous day!" Atsuto thought while looking at the clear sky. "This weather is a lot better when compared to the coldness of our city."

Suddenly, a small breeze blew through his black hair. That was the moment when Atsuto hid the rose in his pocket and ceased licking the lollipop. He looked back and saw that there was nobody in the UFO.

"Maybe my mind is playing tricks." Atsuto said and turned his back to his post.

In the next moment he got face to face with a man dressed in purple knight armor with spikes, a red cape and a horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull.

"What the…" Atsuto barely mumbled before his neck was caught in the strong grip of the strange person's left hand.

"You were too easy." a demonic voice came out of the armor's helmet.

In the next moment a blonde girl with her hair messed up to resemble a mane, who was also dressed in a golden dress, appeared by the armored person's side.

"Well done, Kaizer-sama!" she complimented.

"Was there ever a doubt, Leona?" Kaizer proudly responded.

"Oh no… you are… Kaizer?" Atsuto asked in shock.

"Let's take him inside for interrogation." Leona suggested.

Kaizer nodded and walked inside the chosen duelists' UFO along with the blonde girl, then locked the main door. Afterwards Kaizer pushed Atsuto against a wall while still holding his neck tight.

"Don't even try to scream for help, my minions are stalling your friends as we speak." Kaizer told his hostage.

"I gotta say, your plan is quite brilliant. While they're running in circles, we'll manage to fetch some information from him and also hinder them from reaching the volcano." Leona mentioned.

At the city, as Subaru and Tsugumi were heading towards a park where they could spend some quality time together, a black haired figure dressed in a red jacket appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path. They recognized him immediately.

"Shubham, what are you doing here?" Subaru asked.

"Oh nothing just came to settle a score with you!" Shubham answered and showed his glowing deck while putting a psychopath expression on his face.

"Listen, we don't have time for your games!" Tsugumi intervened.

"He's now on Kaizer's side, there's no reasoning with him!" Subaru said to the blonde girl while taking out his deck.

Two dueling tables rose from the ground and both duelists set their cards and got ready for their match.

"This time you're going down, Subaru Geki!" Shubham assured his opponent.

Meanwhile, Tamma was running after another bug he had found and Luna was rushing after him. But just as the red haired kid was about to catch it, someone stepped on its with their sandal, killing it immediately.

"Hey, how dare you do that to my future pet?" Tamma shouted.

"Alwyn the Onsen can do whatever he wants, la!" the figure answered.

"Finally you stopped!" Luna said after she reached Tamma and took some deep breaths.

"You two pathetic, ah! Alwyn the Onsen will finish you quickly!" the stranger continued and showed his deck. "In the name of Kaizer-sama!"

"K-Kaizer?" both Tamma and Luna asked in fear.

Now that they were able to see him better, Alwyn was a 15 year old boy, not very tall, dressed in a blue sleeveless jacket without a shirt, white pants, sandals and was almost bald, his head being covered by a black turban and his few white hair bits being raised up like a sharp fork.

"Yes, I serve Kaizer-sama and you will be owned by me!" Alwyn continued.

"No, you're the one who will be owned for what you've done to my bug!" Tamma replied and showed his deck as well.

"But Tamma, we should head back and…" Luna tried to speak but got interrupted quickly.

"DUEL START!" both Tamma and Alwyn shouted.

Tiger and Nolan kept wandering in the streets looking for anything suspicious until they finally saw a strange yellow light coming from a dark alley. Without saying a word, Tiger headed to that alley and had the rather confused Nolan follow him.

"What are we doing here, Tiger?" Nolan asked once they set foot in the alley.

"Ssh, it might be a trap." Tiger whispered.

After they made a few steps towards the glowing light, they saw that it belonged to a dueling deck. But what was shocking to them was that the one holding the deck was a short being with gray skin and huge black eyes. Nolan was about to scream in fear but Tiger quickly covered his mouth.

"We don't want to catch the attention of others." Tiger said and Nolan nodded.

"Earthlings, your time has come, for we shall conquer your planet soon!" the strange being declared.

"Just who are you?" Nolan asked.

"My name is Alien… and I am a proud servant of Kaizer-sama." Alien declared.

"Kaizer? What does that bastard want? I demand some answers!" Tiger said and took out his deck as well. "And I will get them my way!"

Back at the UFO, Kaizer was ready to interrogate Atsuto.

"I want to know information about the chosen duelists, all five of them, and don't you try to play games with me!" Kaizer demanded in an authoritarian voice.

"I have nothing to say to you." Atsuto strictly said.

"Oh no?" Kaizer ironically spoke while surrounding his right hand with a dark aura. "Alright then, enough mister nice guy."

Kaizer placed his hand on Atsuto's head and in the next moment the duelist dressed in a dark blue suit felt a great headache.

"Hehehe, changed your mind?" Kaizer asked but got no response.

Meanwhile at Subaru's and Shubham's duel, the match had just begun and it seemed that both duelists were rushing out each other. Subaru had Vorg, Brawler of Hell tapped, Fuuma Bajir untapped in the battle zone and four shields left. Shubham had Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess tapped, Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow untapped and four shields as well. Now it was Subaru's turn.

"I cast Dark Soul Creation, destroy Fuuma Bajir and draw 3 cards. Then I destroy Deis Melnia with Fuuma Bajir's effect." Subaru said and watched how Shubham's creature got burned away after he drew three cards. "Vorg, Brawler of Hell, attack Bella!"

The horned humanoid dressed in black armor hit the blue ghostly princess with its metallic weapon and made it disappear.

"So I'm guessing that your retarded looks have something to do with your changing to dark/fire, huh?" Shubham asked.

"Hey, my Subaru does not look retarded, you creep!" Tsugumi shouted.

"Well, Shubham, you could say that…" Subaru mentioned while sweating.

"Hah, still, a new haircut and a stupid headband won't be enough to defeat me! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Shubham said and revealed the top 3 cards of his deck: Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard, Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General. "Grr… Zabi Olzekia goes to my hand, the other two to my graveyard."

"I'm guessing that your bad luck is quite enough for me to win then, haha." Subaru laughed.

"Shut up!" an angry Shubham yelled.

At Tamma's and Alwyn's duel the rush was even greater. Tamma had Fist Ace, the Meteoric tapped, Straight, Fighting Ogre untapped and three shields left, whereas Alwyn had Yattare Pippi tapped and four shields left. The reason Tamma's shields were lesser than Alwyn's was because Alwyn had summoned Shooting Exedrive, who is a speed attacker, and took down two of Tamma's shields in his previous turn. Now it was the red haired child's turn.

"Since Straight, Fighting Ogre makes my Human evolution creatures cost 2 mana less, I now evolve Fist Ace into Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!" Tamma said and a giant humanoid dressed in a thick red armor which was wielding black cannons and had a purple X on its chest appeared behind him and roared at Alwyn. "Ogre Beater, take down Yattare Pippi!"

Ogre Beater clenched its fists and used them to knock off the parrot for good.

"Then I untap Ogre Beater and attack with him once again - double break his shields!" Tamma ordered and Ogre Beater fired huge bullets from its black cannons that took down two of Alwyn's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper!" Alwyn said and showed the card that was in his shields. "Destroy Straight, Fighting Ogre!"

A red metallic scrapped appeared out of nowhere and crushed the young humanoid dressed in a black ninja armor.

"Now it's my turn, I summon Apache Hyahho and put Bishamon Kid into the battle zone!" Alwyn said and both mentioned creatures appeared behind him. "It will all be over soon, la!"

"Probably for you…" Tamma replied and showed a fire card that he put on his battle zone. "I summon Genji Boy! Now go, Ogre Beater, break his final shields!"

Alwyn took cover as Ogre Beater repeated its cannon attack upon his last two shields. However, after the shield shards united into two cards, he took both into his hand and showed one of them to Tamma while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Genji Boy to the mana zone!"

"Oh no!" Tamma exclaimed while watching how his card was bounced from the battle zone and landed on his mana zone.

"Time to show you what I am made of, you fool!" Alwyn said. "I summon Silver Shovel and send Apache Hyahho to the mana zone."

"I send… Ogre Beater…" Tamma said scared and watched how his giant humanoid got reduced to nothing but mana crystals as the two multicolored cards landed tapped in his mana zone.

"Next turn you are done for, la!"

Things weren't going that good for Tiger either. His opponent had summoned Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits and he could not cast any more spells unless he had an Alien creature in his battle zone.

"Gaga Alcadeias, break his last shields!" Alien ordered.

The golden angel with black head that had a red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp jaws waved its hands and created a yellow laser ball that it casted upon Tiger's remaining three shields, taking all down. Tiger took cover and once the attack was over he had some small burns on his green jacket and black T shirt.

"Surrender now while you still can, fool!" Alien demanded.

"Heh, you should be the one surrendering!" Tiger replied while putting a smirk on his face. "Psychic Link!"

"Yes, he did it!" Nolan exclaimed.

"Arise, Chopping Ruzou, Rude Mincing Gang Leader!"

A giant beast wearing black boots, a green vest, which had fists made of ice, a menacing mouth with sharp fangs and long blonde hair that resembled a lion mane appeared behind Tiger and roared loudly at the Alien.

"When Chopping Ruzou link awakens, Tiger will put any number of Hunters from his mana zone and hyperspatial zone into the battle zone." Nolan said.

"Heh, I put Iron Arm Tribe into the battle zone and evolve it into Great Hercules, Giant Insect. Then I put Yattare Pippi into the battle zone and evolve it into Quatro Fang, Burning Soul!" Tiger said and Alien backed down at the sight of the powerful trio of Hunter creatures. "Go, Chopping Ruzou, triple break his shields!"

Chopping Ruzou punched three of Alien's shields with its fists and they were shattered into many shards in a matter of seconds.

"Great Hercules, break his final shields!" Tiger ordered and the giant blue insect slashed down Alien's remaining two shields with its claws.

"Impossible, this can't be!" Alien exclaimed.

"Now, you will tell me what is Kaizer up to unless you don't want my Tora to feast on that skeleton that you call body." Tiger said while gesticulating towards his Quatro Fang.

At the UFO Kaizer's interrogation continued. Atsuto was struggling with the pain that Kaizer's hand was causing to his head.

"Hahaha, having fun yet? If you'd like, I can turn it up a notch. Or you can tell me everything you know about the chosen duelists, fool!" Kaizer suggested.

"Never! And you… can't make me!" Atsuto shouted as decided as ever.

Leona was sitting back with her arms crossed and watching everything with great satisfaction. She admired Atsuto's courage to oppose Kaizer but in the same time she found his suffering highly entertaining.

Kaizer took his right hand off Atsuto's head and then he also let go of his neck, letting him fall on his knees. The black haired duelist looked at him with fierce eyes and expected the worse.

"Surely you remember Shubham changed his allegiance. And now this is your opportunity." Kaizer said and created a dark purple sphere in his left hand. "Cross over and join me while you still can!"

Back at the duel between Subaru and Shubham, it was now Subaru's turn. The black haired chosen duelist drew a card, charged mana and showed a darkness card to his opponent while saying:

"I summon Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!"

A purple ghost with a horned skull on its head, orange eyes and mouth and which was wielding an orange skull staff appeared behind him.

"Now show me two cards from your hand!" Subaru demanded and Shubham revealed Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and Melnia Emergency, Explosive Burst. "I discard Zabi Barrel."

Kitarou pointed its staff at the mentioned card and fired a darkness beam that made it fall from Shubham's hand to his graveyard.

"Vorg, Brawler of Hell, break another shield!" Subaru ordered and Vorg hit one of Shubham's shields with its metallic weapon, tearing it to pieces and leaving him with three more. "So Shubham, what made you jump ship? Don't Kokujo's last words mean anything to you?"

"Kokujo? I'm thankful for him returning the three pieces of Gallows Devil Dragon to me, but that's it. I would never work with someone like you, you're simply too soft!" Shubham coldly replied.

Meanwhile at the UFO, Kaizer put the dark purple sphere unto Atsuto's head and electrocuted him. Atsuto screamed in pain but nobody was outside to hear him.

"Can you feel the transformation? Soon you will be a minion of mine, Atsuto!" Kaizer excitedly said.

"Sorry, but I shall remain with the good guys until the end of time!" Atsuto declared.

"Wanna bet?" Kaizer asked and pushed the sphere even deeper into Atsuto's head, causing him to yell even louder.

At Tamma's and Alwyn's duel, it was now the red haired kid's turn. His hand suddenly glowed with a bright red aura and made Luna amazed and Alwyn shocked. Tamma drew his next card and six mana cards tapped themselves as he placed it in his battle zone.

"I summon Ogre Kaiser "Destruction"!" Tamma said and a metallic red dragon with blue laser wings and five long golden horns on its head appeared behind him and proudly roared. "This is my deck avatar, Kasai!"

"It's outstanding!" Luna exclaimed in awe at the sight of the magnificent dragon.

"And just what does that lizard do?" Alwyn mockingly asked.

"Well for one… it's a speed attacker." Tamma said smiling and Alwyn's own smile faded immediately. "So… get him, Kasai! Todomeda!"

"NOO!" Alwyn yelled as the dragon unleashed a stream of fire out of its mouth and blew him to kingdom come.

"You did it, Tamma!" Luna congratulated him as he packed up his cards.

In the next moment Luna's cell phone buzzed. The blue haired girl opened it and saw that she got a message from Tiger that said: 'Kaizer is at the UFO and is holding Atsuto as hostage. Get the others and meet me there QUICKLY!'

As Kaizer was pushing the sphere into Atsuto's head, a strange sound was suddenly heard coming from the door. Leona turned her back and saw that it opened, and to make matters worse, that Tiger and Nolan came in.

"Kaizer-sama, we've got intruders!" Leona said.

"Kaizer, hand over Atsuto!" Tiger demanded.

At the hearing of those words, Kaizer let go of Atsuto's head and the purple sphere that was half inside it disappeared. The armored duelist turned to them and said:

"No problem, Tiger. Unfortunately, you're just a little too late."

"What?" Tiger asked.

"Hahahaha, time to go, Leona!" Kaizer announced and opened a portal.

"Alright!" the girl obediently replied and disappeared with her master in the portal.

Kaizer and Leona went to the place where Alwyn landed and took him with them in another portal. Afterwards they went to the alley where the hurt Alien was lying and took him as well. Finally, they went to the street where Subaru and Shubham were dueling, interrupted their match and took their ally with them. But Shubham did not leave until he promised Subaru that they would meet again, and that their next match would be his doom.

In the meantime, Tiger and Nolan dragged Atsuto to the hospital room and were giving him medical care. For a few minutes he was unconscious, but he finally managed to open his eyes and the first thing he saw was the tall blonde teen.

"Just hang on, Atsuto, you'll make it!" Tiger encouraged him.

"Yeah…" Atsuto said with a weakened voice. "What about Subaru and Tsugumi?"

"They're fine, they're on their way to the UFO."

"O-ok, thanks for telling me."

Atsuto closed his eyes and went back to sleep. But what he did not know was that inside his head a dark smoke was about to take over.


	12. The volcano

The next day at the chosen duelist UFO, the heroes were sitting at the table and discussing the events that had happened the day before. Subaru and Tsugumi were sitting near the cooking machine, Tamma and Luna were sitting near the window and Tiger sat at the head of the table with his elbows on it, seeming that he was dominating them all.

"So basically, splitting up helped Kaizer do a divide and conquer strategy against us, right?" Luna asked.

"Yes, that way he sent his minions to hunt us down, giving him the opportunity to attack our base." Tiger answered. "But from what that alien thing told me, he's heading towards the volcano."

"The volcano? What plans could he have there?" Tsugumi asked.

"I don't know yet, but we'll find out." Tiger assured her.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm more concerned about Atsuto." Subaru brought up. "I mean, Kaizer was hurting him when Tiger and Nolan burst in, I fear that the damage he inflicted upon him won't be severe."

"Don't worry, Subaru, Atsuto is alright, Nolan's taken care of him and he needs some rest now. I suggest we all concentrate on the mission and find out what Kaizer's up to." Tiger continued his idea.

But little did the chosen duelists know that while they were having their discussion Atsuto had gotten up from his bed and walked out of the UFO all by himself.

Later that day, as the chosen duelists were minding their own business and planning their next move, they heard a knock at the UFO's door. So that they wouldn't bother themselves, Nolan took the initiative and went to see who it was. When he opened the door, he saw a blue haired girl with blue eyes dressed in a miku outfit that consisted of a gray sleeveless shirt, black sleeves on her arms that weren't attached to the shirt so that her shoulders were showing, a blue tie, a black mini skirt and long black boots. At the sight of her, Nolan immediately blushed due to her cuteness.

"Um… are you Nolan?" the girl asked.

"What? Who? Me?" Nolan quickly said once her voice woke him up. "Oh yes, yes I am Nolan."

"Are Tsugumi or Subaru home? If yes, tell them that their friend Hanna has come to visit!"

"H-Hanna? You're that girl from the tournament who fought with Tabitha."

"Yes, but as you remember, that chapter of my life is over."

"I see…"

Nolan stared at his feet still blushing and feeling nervous until he realized he was being impolite for letting Hanna wait outside. He quickly invited her in and closed the door after her.

As the chosen duelists were having their discussion about their future plans, Nolan entered the kitchen with the unexpected guest and at the sight of her, both Subaru and Tsugumi got surprised looks on their faces.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Hanna saluted.

"I don't believe it… Hanna-san!" Tsugumi exclaimed while getting up from her seat and then she hugged her.

"What a pleasant surprise, Hanna!" Subaru added. "How did you get here?"

"Let's just say that I was wandering from country to country and I somehow ended up here and saw the UFO." Hanna explained. "What about you guys? When I last saw you there were only you two as chosen duelists. When did you get three more?"

"Oh it's a long story." Tsugumi replied and sat down.

"I got time." Hanna added and sat down as well.

Meanwhile, Atsuto was walking slowly towards the volcano with a grim look on his face. His eyes had changed from white to black and the iris' color also changed from brown to red. All that was in his mind was the moment when Kaizer pushed the dark purple ball of energy into his head, his words resounding in his head like the chorus of a radio hit.

"_So can you feel it? Can you feel the power of my darkness? Soon you will be a minion of mine, Atsuto, hahaha!"_

Atsuto began to growl and closed his eyes. Then he stopped, raised his head to the sky, and opened his eyes whose colors turned to normal and shouted:

"Never!"

"My corruption begins to consume you, Atsuto. The darkness will rise, and no matter how much you fight it, you will be helpless to resist it. You will be one of my loyal duelists!" Kaizer's voice spoke into his mind.

At the volcano, Alwyn and Alien were climbing on the front path that was leading to the top while Shubham, Leona and Kaizer were standing at the lap of the mountain.

"He's heeding my call and will soon be here. Once he arrives, you have to make sure he is fully corrupted into a minion of mine." Kaizer ordered.

"And what will you do in the meantime, master?" Leona curiously asked.

"I will join Alwyn and Alien on our search for the first map piece. I sense that it must be hiding somewhere inside this volcano."

"You can search for it without any worries, Kaizer-sama, we will make sure that nobody will bother you!" Shubham assured.

Kaizer nodded to him and then began to climb the volcano after the other two, leaving Shubham and Leona all alone to wait for Atsuto.

Back at the UFO, Subaru and Tsugumi had finished their storytelling to Hanna. They introduced Tiger, Tamma and Luna to her, told her how they recruited them, how Tiger helped Subaru overcome his sorrow, how they were attacked by the mysterious Kaizer and how they were intending to find out what he was up to.

"This Kaizer guy sounds really threatening! I hope you don't mind if I help you." Hanna offered.

"Sorry, but I think that there are too many people for this UFO." Tiger strictly said.

"Oh, don't worry; I'm not going to stay here with you guys forever, just as long as you need me. I am on my own journey as well."

"So we're going to work together once again?" Tsugumi asked excitedly.

"Like in the good days!" Hanna joked, because those 'good days' were three months earlier, in the Zeta Wars, and about ten days ago when they teamed up against their old foe Rezo.

All of a sudden, Nolan burst in with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey Nolly, what's the matter?" Tamma asked.

"Guys, Atsuto… is gone!" Nolan's words shocked the chosen duelists.

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed and turned to Tiger. "Do you think he is…?"

"No doubt about it, Kaizer must've done something to him." Tiger replied.

After some planning, they decided to split the team in three: Tiger, Tamma and Luna would head to the volcano to see what was going on there, Subaru, Tsugumi and Hanna would follow Atsuto's tracks and Nolan would stay at the UFO to guard it. Searching for Atsuto wasn't that difficult of a task as Tiger thought it would be for them because Atsuto's perfume could be smelled four miles from where he was, so once Subaru caught the scent of it, they all headed in the respective direction. But what they didn't know was that they were also heading to the volcano, the place where Atsuto was.

At the volcano's lap, Leona and Shubham saw that Atsuto was approaching slowly. His eyes were changing from white to black, showing that he was trying to resist. Once he got closer, Leona stretched her arms open and walked to him while saying:

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't our new teammate."

"Heh, I never thought we'd ever end up working together like this, Atsuto." Shubham added.

"So, shall we begin our first mission?" Leona asked and was about to put her hand on his shoulder.

In the next moment, Atsuto slapped Leona's hand and the girl instinctually jumped back sensing danger. Atsuto stared at her with anger as his eyes turned once again from black to white.

"Don't even think about it, I'll never work with you creeps!" Atsuto declared.

"It is time to surrender yourself, Atsuto!" Shubham intervened. "You know deep inside that you are now one of us!"

"Never! I will always be good, it doesn't matter what you or anybody else says! It will never change that!"

However, Atsuto's eyes turned black yet again and he yelled in pain. The young duelist fell on his knees in front of his enemies.

"Hahaha, don't fool yourself, my friend, the darkness in your eyes says otherwise. Now come and join us, comrade!" Shubham laughed.

"I am a Duel Hero, so forget about me ever joining you! Now leave me alone, Shubham!" Atsuto growled.

A few miles away from him, Subaru, Tsugumi and Hanna were approaching by following the scent of his perfume. While walking, they were also having a discussion.

"So, guys, how's it been going between you two lately?" Hanna asked.

"Sadly we didn't have much time to share together ever since our friends died." Tsugumi said with a disappointed voice. "We barely managed to chat at night in bed."

"Oh!" the blue haired girl suddenly exclaimed. "Don't tell me that you were too busy with…"

"No, it wasn't that." a blushing Subaru responded. "Let's just say that we were too tired to have a discussion."

"Anyway, Hanna-san, what about you? What have you been doing these past days?" Tsugumi asked curiously.

"Nothing that interesting, to be honest. All I've done was to travel from town to town, from country to country, duel thugs and try to find some meaning in my life. Haha, you could say that I've become a wanderer." Hanna savored the irony.

"Hanna-san…" Tsugumi murmured with a small sad tone in her voice.

"Ssh, there's Atsuto!" Subaru interrupted the chat and pushed both girls behind a tree. "What's he doing?"

The trio watched how Atsuto tried to fight back the power that was slowly corrupting him while Shubham and Leona confronted him.

"I don't care how much pain I have to endure or what Kaizer does to me; I will never switch sides and become a traitor like you!" Atsuto said to Shubham and slowly got up on his feet.

"Sorry, my fellow duelist, but if you keep denying who you are now, I'm afraid I will have to open your eyes the hard way!" Shubham said and took out his deck.

Atsuto reached his hand into his pocket and took out his deck as well which shined with a blue and purple aura. His eyes reverted from black to white and two dueling tables rose from the ground. Both players put their decks on them, set their cards and thus began their match. Leona sat on the ground with her arms crossed and watched the match.

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon." Atsuto said, and after he drew his top two cards he tossed Drain Worm, the Parasite to his graveyard.

"I summon Zabi Fly, the Pillager." Shubham said and a plane made of bones appeared behind him.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards."

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll."

Due to Zabi Barrel's effect, Atsuto chose and discarded Aqua Sonicwave from his hand.

"Zabi Fly, break his shield!" Shubham ordered and the plane flew through one of Atsuto's shields and broke it to pieces.

"Grave Evolution, I evolve Drain Worm into Dorgedos, the Reaper Drake!" Atsuto said and the darkness card from his graveyard jumped into the battle zone where he placed the said card upon it. "With its effect, Zabi Barrel won't be able to block this turn. Dorgedos, take down Zabi Fly!"

The purple mechanical dragon looking creature fired its bullets upon the bone plane until it blew up. Then due to Zabi Fly's effect, Atsuto discarded Murian.

"I cast Melnia Emergency, Explosive Burst." Shubham said, then drew two cards and discarded Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger.

"Huh? You're using Hunters? Since when did mister almighty Alien user get his hands on these creatures?" Atsuto asked.

"Hah, I'd probably also ask you why Subaru uses a few Aliens in his deck as well. Thing is, since Kokujo wanted darkness Aliens and Hunters to work in harmony, I saw no problem in having a few Hunters work with my Aliens in my deck, all to cause even more chaos, hahaha!"

"You creep…" Atsuto spoke disgusted and then begun his turn. "I summon Fuuma Gorgonshack! Now all spells cost 2 more mana to cast!"

"Why you little bastard!" Shubham cursed and then stared disappointed at the Inferno Sign card in his hand that he was intending to use to revive Thunder Blade, but couldn't anymore due to Gorgonshack's effect.

"Dorgedos, break his shield!" Atsuto ordered and the creature fired its bullets upon one of Shubham's shields and blasted it to pieces.

"If I can't use spells, I'll use this – I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! With Zabi Olzekia's effect I destroy Zabi Olzekia and now you must choose one of your own creatures and destroy it!"

"I destroy Deepsea Typhoon. Now I'm guessing that it is my turn. I evolve Dorgedos into Startdash Reviver, Crystalline Shadow!"

The purple dragon looking creature got surrounded by a blue and purple aura and transformed into a creature dressed in a dark blue skull armor and wielding two sharp red blades shaped like axes.

"With its effect I revive Aqua Sonicwave and send Zabi Barrel back to your hand! Now go Startdash Reviver, double break his shields!" Atsuto ordered and the creature swung both its axes and cut two of Shubham's shields in an X attack. "Fuuma Gorgonshack, break his shield!"

Once his fourth shield got broken, a grin appeared on Shubham's face. The shield shards united into a card which glowed with a bright purple light. Shubham showed it to Atsuto and spoke with satisfaction:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Fuuma Gorgonshack!"

"Oh no!" Atsuto sweated.

"Now I am finally able to cast spells at their normal cost again!" Shubham grinned. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, and with its effect I destroy Aqua Sonicwave and put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier into the battle zone!"

A golden armored demon riding a horned skeletal horse appeared behind Shubham and jumped at Atsuto's Startdash Reviver, slashing it with its blue laser scythe swords.

"Hahaha, Black Ganveet's effect destroys one of your tapped creatures when it enters the battle zone. Now you're left without creatures, Atsuto! Let's see you handle this, hahaha!"

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I summon Murian, destroy it and draw another card. Don't think I'll let you awaken Ganveet, Shubham!" Atsuto said.

"With or without Ganveet's awakening, you're still doomed! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Shubham said and revealed the top three cards of his deck: Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons, Terror Pit and Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow. "Hah, all go to my hand. And now I summon Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow! Black Ganveet, break his shield!"

Black Ganveet obeyed its master's order and galloped at Atsuto. When the creature reached him, it swung its swords and slashed down one of his shields.

All of a sudden, Atsuto's eyes turned black once more and a big headache began to hurt him. Atsuto covered his head and screamed with pain yet again. A smile of satisfaction appeared on Shubham's face who spoke to him with confidence:

"Hahaha, it seems that in the end the darkness still got the best of you!"

"No…" Atsuto barely spoke.

"The transformation is about to complete." Leona remarked.

"And once this happens, he will be Kaizer-sama's… forevermore!" Shubham announced.

Seeing Atsuto struggle against the darkness truly impressed Hanna. It reminded her of the times she doubted her own loyalty towards her master Tabitha and the struggle she had between being good and evil. Touched by Atsuto's suffering, Hanna got out of her hideout and ran at the two duelists.

"Who is that girl?" Leona asked.

"Huh? What is Hanna doing here?" Shubham added.

"Atsuto, don't listen to this creep!" Hanna shouted and then she finally stopped next to the struggling black haired duelist. "You're as much of a hero as Subaru and the others. You've got to be strong and believe the good that is inside of you. From what Tsugumi told me, the greatest strength of the chosen duelists comes from the way they stick together, the way they believe in all for one. You are part of their team and they are there for you as well. You've got to believe in them and in yourself! Stay strong and don't let Shubham get inside your head! Stay true to what you are and draw from the strength of your friends, Atsuto!"

"I'll never give up, Hanna! I'll never deny what I feel inside! I'm not Kaizer's minion, I AM A DUEL HERO!" Atsuto yelled out loud and the darkness from his eyes vanished.

"How could it be?" Shubham asked shocked at the sight of what happened.

"Shubham… it's time for you to crawl back into your hole!" Atsuto declared and his right hand got surrounded by a blue and purple aura.

Atsuto drew his next card and then tapped two mana cards while placing it into the battle zone.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Atsuto said, and then drew two cards and discarded Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation. "Then I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll!"

"Tsh." Shubham murmured and discarded Terror Pit. "Foolish to the end! Very well, it's time to end this match – I summon Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman! With Zabi Mira's effect I destroy Black Ganveet, Cebu Aquman Jr and Deis Melnia. Then I replace them with Gallows Cebu Kaiser, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel and Hydra Gilsaurus!"

The three psychic creatures that formed the notorious Gallows Devil Dragon, Dead Sea Dragon appeared behind Shubham and stared down at Atsuto.

"Hehehe, next turn I will psychic link Gallows Devil Dragon and it will be history for you!" Shubham declared.

"We'll see about that, Shubham! Grave Evolution, I summon Death March, Reaper of Death!" Atsuto said.

"Oh no, this can't be happening!"

"Death March, break his final shield!"

Towards Shubham's disappointment, there was no shield trigger to be found in his last shield. He looked angrily at the victorious Atsuto who said:

"It's time to show you the power of good, Shubham! Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, todomeda!"

Atsuto jumped from his place, seared through the air and made a kung fu attack with his foot that kicked Shubham off and made him land near Leona along with his cards. The blonde girl got up, packed up Shubham's deck, then put the unconscious boy on her back and said:

"If you think this is over, you're dead wrong, Atsuto!"

The girl then ran off and began to climb the volcano with Shubham on her back.

"You did it!" Hanna exclaimed happily.

Atsuto walked to his dueling table and packed up his cards. Then Subaru and Tsugumi got out of their hideout and ran to him as well.

"Atsuto, you did great job on taking care of Shubham!" Subaru complimented.

"Yeah, you showed them that the power of goodness will always triumph over evil!" Tsugumi added.

"Sorry, guys… but this is something I have to do on my own." Atsuto suddenly spoke to them, and then he turned his back and rushed to the volcano following Leona's tracks.

"Atsuto! Wait, where are you going?" Hanna shouted and ran after him, soon to be followed by Subaru and Tsugumi.

Unfortunately for the trio, Atsuto was faster and he was already a good distance ahead of them while climbing the volcano.

"I can feel that the darkness is still inside of me. I can't risk hurting any of my friends. If there's someone that can heal me, that's Kaizer." Atsuto spoke in his mind and kept climbing after Leona.

Meanwhile inside a cave from the volcano, Kaizer, Alien and Alwyn were searching for the map piece. Tabitha was also talking to Kaizer and guiding him, his two minions not being able to see or hear her.

"If I remember correctly the map piece should be lying somewhere at the end of this cave." Tabitha said.

"Why did you choose to hide the map piece inside a volcano anyway? Don't you fear it might be burned?" Kaizer telepathically asked.

"Hohoho, don't you worry about that, the map is made of a powerful material that won't allow it to get burned into ashes, be ripped into smaller pieces or have any other kinds of damage inflicted upon it. This way I can hide it anywhere without putting it in danger. The security of its seekers… is another matter."

"You truly are despicable."

But right after Kaizer finished his sentence; a strange figure came out of the darkness and blocked their way.

"Hey, you in the way, la!" Alwyn complained.

"Back off, or you will suffer the consequences!" Alien threatened.

"Heh, I'm sorry, guys, but your little quest ends here!" a teenager's voice came from the mouth of the strange figure whose upper side of the body was covered by the shadows.

"Just who are you and how dare you stand in my way?" Kaizer asked frustrated.

"Let's just say… that I am here to turn the tides into my favor!" the figure replied and in the next moment an earthquake shook the volcano.

Outside the volcano began to erupt. A huge stream of lava fell out of its crater. Luckily for Leona and for Atsuto, they weren't standing in the incredibly hot liquid's way. However, the lava fell straight towards Hanna, Tsugumi and Subaru, and nothing they could do would help them avoid it.


	13. Atsuto stands up

It seemed that it was all over for Subaru, Tsugumi and Hanna. There was no possible way they could avoid the lava, and if they would have jumped off the volcano, they would have fallen fifteen feet. Subaru closed his eyes and expected the worse, but then he felt a bright light shine above him and the rest. When he opened his eyes, he saw an enormous red and gold phoenix that was holding four long blades with its wings. The phoenix screeched loudly and absorbed the stream of lava in its own body.

"Looks like you guys need a little help." a voice came from the phoenix's shoulder.

Subaru looked up and for a moment saw a red haired teenager dressed in a red racer suit with yellow flames. The black haired chosen duelist's eyes widened as he grasped for breath and in the end mumbled:

"Rad? Is that you?"

"If you mean the ex-chosen fire duelist, no, I'm not him." the same figure responded.

When Subaru looked better, he saw that the one sitting on the phoenix's shoulder was actually a teen with brown hair long to his neck, wearing sunglasses, a grey cloak with the number 13 on it, a pair of jeans and who also had a sheath with a sword at the right side of his pants.

"Who are you?" Tsugumi asked in awe.

"The one who will help you guys." the strange figure replied and turned to the phoenix. "EP, that's enough."

The phoenix finished absorbing the lava and jumped off the volcano into the air. The phoenix then approached the trio with its back.

"Hop on, I'll take you to the top of the volcano if that's what you want." the brown haired teenager offered.

"And why should we accept the offer of a stranger?" Subaru asked skeptically.

"Well, I could always leave and let you guys do all that hard climbing." the stranger countered.

"He has a point there." Hanna noticed.

"Fine." Subaru sighed.

The three jumped onto the phoenix's back and the creature took off to the top of the volcano.

Meanwhile Kaizer and his two minions got out of the volcano's cave and were heading to its top.

"Where could that map piece be?" Kaizer asked frustrated. "We've searched every inch of that blasted cave!"

"Maybe someone stole it, la." Alwyn suggested.

"Nonsense, we are the only ones who know of the map and its purpose." Alien brought up.

"Alien is right. Maybe the map is hidden somewhere at the crater." Kaizer added and then spoke telepathically to Tabitha. "There's no other place where you could have hidden it."

"Hey, even I am prone to mistakes sometimes." Tabitha apologized.

Leona managed to reach the volcano's top and she let Shubham off her back. That was also when he finally woke up. The girl quickly handed his deck and said:

"Put it where it belongs and get up. Kaizer-sama should be here any minute now."

"Alright." Shubham replied and put his deck back in his pocket. "Say, Leona, do you think that there might be a way for Atsuto to defeat Kaizer's darkness?"

"Haha, not likely. Ever since I first met Kaizer I've sensed that he holds inside an enormous power, one even greater than mine. Atsuto is too weak to resist it forever, sooner or later he will be subjugated by the darkness."

As the phoenix was searing through the air towards the volcano's top, Tsugumi and Hanna were admiring the sights and Subaru was having a discussion with the creature's master.

"Alright, pal, enough with the mystery, just who exactly are you?" Subaru seriously spoke.

"My name is Blane Kaminaga." the boy said. "It is nice to meet you, Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist."

"From the tone of your voice, I'm guessing you've done your homework regarding me."

"Not just you, Subaru, but the whole chosen duelist team, both past and present."

"Alright, now this is getting weird. Are you stalking us?"

"Haha, no, let's just say that I've always been there to protect you guys. At your final battles against Rezo and Tabitha, at your final battle against your own father Mutsuhito Geki, I was always there."

"And the reason you didn't intervene was because…?"

"Because I felt like you guys could handle the situation by yourselves. The only reason I've intervened in this moment is because that lava would've certainly killed you." Blane explained.

"So you are some kind of guardian angel." Subaru noted and Blane nodded to him. "Oh well, it's nice to know that we've got people we can count on."

Subaru's words brought a smile of satisfaction on Blane's face. Sure, Subaru couldn't see his eyes good because of the sunglasses, but he knew that deep down inside Blane was happy.

At the mountain's top, Kaizer, Alwyn and Alien had reunited with Leona and Shubham. But not long after the group got together again, Atsuto reached the peak as well. The duel hero got up, wiped the dust off his dark blue suit and then turned to the quintet of evildoers.

"Hahaha, I do so love the smell of evil in the morning! And by the looks of it, my brand new minion has arrived." Kaizer said.

"Kaizer!" Atsuto exclaimed, but then his eyes turned black once again and this time he couldn't resist it anymore.

"I've been expecting you, Atsuto, and on behalf of my minions I would like to welcome you aboard as a full time duelist."

Atsuto's only response was the glowing light coming from his right hand, symbolizing that he was intending to begin a kaijudo duel. All of Kaizer's minions, except for Leona, retreated behind their master.

"Kaizer-sama!"

"Relax, Leona, he won't harm us."

Atsuto tried to approach them, but the darkness inside his head began to torture him. Atsuto's feet began to shake and he grasped for air. At first Kaizer thought that Atsuto had been fully possessed, but his stubborn resistance proved the otherwise.

"Very clever, Atsuto, I must say, I almost bought into your little plan of deceit." Kaizer complimented.

"But the joke's on you, pal. Once one enters Kaizer's team, there is no turning back!" Leona added.

Kaizer walked to Atsuto who showed a small sign of fear. The duel hero tried to back down but he couldn't. Kaizer stretched his hand to him and a purple and blue beam came out of Atsuto's entire body. The body entered the armored duelist's hand and when it ceased being, a darkness and water card was lying in it.

"Perfect, I have my own Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist card now." Kaizer said and made a purple sphere appear in front of him in which he placed the card. "This card will do excellent in this certain deck, hehehe."

Kaizer then turned around and walked away much to the confusion of everyone. Once he passed the blonde girl, he gave his orders:

"Alright, Leona, you'll be in charge up here. I'm off to find the map piece."

"Yes, Kaizer-sama!" Leona approved.

"Alwyn, Alien, you're coming with me!" Kaizer added and the mentioned minions followed him.

"And you're coming with us, Atsuto!" Leona said once Kaizer disappeared from the scene.

"You're Kaizer-sama's minion now!" Shubham added.

Atsuto's only response was a growl, but that soon faded as his eyes' color remained black. The duel hero calmed down and stood up straight, meaning that he had accepted the fate that Kaizer had gave him.

Suddenly, the red and golden phoenix appeared out of nowhere much to the trio's shock and blocked the sun's rays from falling on the volcano. Blane patted its head and then he jumped to the volcano's peak along with Subaru, Tsugumi and Hanna. Once they were face to face with the other three duelists, Subaru approached his friend and said:

"Atsuto, are you alright?"

The duel hero's response was an unexpected punch which threw Subaru back and had him land in Tsugumi's arms. Upon seeing this, Leona laughed evilly and exclaimed:

"Excellent! The change is complete and irreversible!"

Leona then took out her deck and rushed to the quartet while adding:

"Come and join us in battle, Atsuto!"

But once she got closer to them, she noticed Blane and got stunned. The brown haired teen had the same reaction as Leona once he saw her.

"It's you…" Leona murmured.

"Huh? L-Leona?" Blane barely spoke.

"Do you guys know each other?" Hanna asked upon noticing their interaction.

Before any of them could respond, Atsuto came between the two and blocked Leona's path with both his stretched arms.

"Atsuto, what's wrong?" Leona asked.

"I'll never be minion of Kaizer's!" Atsuto declared and took out his glowing deck. "Never!"

Blane, Hanna and the two chosen duelists backed down as two dueling tables rose from the volcano's rocks. Angered, Leona took out her deck and decided to face off Atsuto. Both players set their cards and with the shout of 'duel start!' their match began.

During that time, Kaizer and his two minions had finished searching for the map piece at the other side of the crater, still with no success. Then they decided to descend and check the other side of the volcano, but just as they set foot on the path, they saw that Tiger, Tamma and Luna were approaching them on that way.

"Oh great, not those guys again!" Kaizer complained to his minions and then he shouted to the trio. "Sorry, kids, but I am too busy to play games with you!"

"And you're about to get a lot busier!" Tiger replied and took out his deck while rushing to reach his enemies.

In the end there was no way for Kaizer, Alwyn and Alien to avoid the three chosen duelists, so they had to face them in duels in order to get rid of them.

At Atsuto's and Leona's duel, Atsuto was the one who began the game.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it!" Atsuto said and made Leona discard Deepsea Dober.

"Tsh, I charge mana and end." Leona said and placed King Kere in her mana zone.

"I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation!"

A fat white ghost with four arms and a huge mouth with sharp teeth in the place of its belly appeared behind Atsuto.

"Time Tripper makes Leona put all the cards in her mana zone tapped." Subaru noticed.

"Good one, Atsuto, this way you'll stall for more time!" Hanna commented.

"The problem is that from the looks in Leona's mana cards, she seems to run a blocker deck which will stall Atsuto's rush as well." Tsugumi remarked.

"Grr, I charge mana and end." Leona said with an angered voice while placing The Strong Spiral in her mana zone.

"I summon Fuuma Gorgonshack!" Atsuto said and made Leona even angrier.

"Now all spells cost 2 more to cast." Tsugumi said.

"That's it; Atsuto has blocked Leona's early game completely!" Subaru added.

"I've had enough of your games, Atsuto! I summon Hachaki!" Leona said and a white and golden robot appeared behind her.

"I summon Murian and destroy it. Then I draw a card." Atsuto said.

"Tsh, I charge mana and attack with Hachaki! Now with its effect I may put a blocker that costs 5 or less into the battle zone from my hand, so I put Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon into the battle zone! Hachaki, break his shield!"

"Not so fast, Leona! Ninja strike 4, I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade and send Hachaki back to your hand!"

A blue baby equipped with a mechanical armor appeared out of nowhere and stopped the robot's attack, then made it disappear, Hachaki's card going into Leona's hand.

"Grave Evolution, I evolve Jenny into Dorgedos, the Reaper Drake!" Atsuto said and the purple mechanical dragon creature appeared behind him and roared. "With Dorgedos' effect, Perfect Madonna won't be able to block this turn. Go, Time Tripper, Fuuma Gorgonshack and Dorgedos, break her shields!"

Leona watched how Atsuto's three creatures each took down one of her shields. However, she did not shield herself from the shield shards that would've hit her body. Instead she let the shards pass next to her, even if one hit her head. Once the attack was over, the shield shards united into three cards which went into her hand. A grin appeared on her face as she showed one of them to her opponent saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and Codename Orewaleo into the battle zone!"

"Oh no, big blockers!" Atsuto thought.

"Lord Reis lets me draw a card whenever I put a blocker in the battle zone, so I'll draw two cards. Now it's my turn, I summon Byoito, Holy Cyber Protector! Codename Orewaleo, destroy Dorgedos! Lord Reis, take down Fuuma Gorgonshack! Hachaki, attack Time Tripper and with its effect I also put Deepsea Dober into the battle zone!" Leona ordered and then she watched how her blockers took down each of Atsuto's creatures and let his battle zone empty, whereas hers was filled with blockers.

"Oh no, it looks like Atsuto is done for!" Subaru exclaimed.

"She got so many blockers out in just a few turns…" Tsugumi said impressed.

"What makes it worse is that Codename Orewaleo allows them all to attack and on Leona's next turn Atsuto will be done for." Hanna added with worry.

Atsuto drew his next card and was disappointed to see that it was Triple Revival Resurrection. He didn't have enough mana to cast it and what was worse was that he didn't have any shield triggers in his deck to protect him from Leona's attacks. That was it, he had lost. The duel hero lowered his head in shame and stared with anger at his dueling table. Leona arrogantly laughed at him and said:

"Hahaha, do you see now, Atsuto? This is true power, and if you want, I could teach you how to become as strong as me. All you have to do is to agree to join Kaizer-sama!"

"Never!" Atsuto shouted and ran from his dueling table towards the blonde girl.

Before Leona could react, Atsuto grabbed her arms tightly and pushed her towards the volcano's crater.

"Have you lost it?" Leona asked with fear.

"Leona, Atsuto, look out!" Shubham shouted and ran after the two.

"Oh no, they're heading towards the crater! If they fall into the lava, they're history!" Subaru exclaimed.

"We gotta help Atsuto!" Tsugumi added and the quartet rushed after them.

As Atsuto was pushing Leona towards the crater, they both felt the heat getting bigger and bigger. Once they reached the edge of the crater, Atsuto pushed Leona on the ground and forced her to look at the burning lava from the volcano.

"Do you see that? That's where you're going if you won't tell Kaizer to heal me!" Atsuto said.

"Fool, there's nothing to be done anymore! Look into your eyes, the darkness has taken over, you're fighting in vain!" Leona replied.

"There has to be a cure, I must fight becoming a minion of Kaizer's!"

"No, you are one of us now!"

Atsuto pushed Leona closer to the crater's edge to show that he was not kidding and that he would actually throw her into the lava. However, in her eyes Atsuto could see both fear and the anger of a predator who would strike if he let her go.

"I'd rather die than serve Kaizer! And if I will die, you're coming with me, Leona!" Atsuto declared and tightened his grip.

But what he didn't know was that behind him Shubham was approaching. And he was not alone. Shubham used his kaijudo energy and conjured up Skull Moon, the Enlightened - a giant horned skeletal warrior with four arms.

"No, it's over, Atsuto!" Shubham declared.

Shubham snapped his fingers and Skull Moon formed a purple energy ball with its four hands and tossed it upon Atsuto.

"No! EP, stop it!" Blane commanded.

The phoenix rushed at Skull Moon and attacked it, both creatures ending up fighting each other. However, it was too late. The energy ball had already been cast and it hit Atsuto heavily while also damaging the edge of the crater and causing it to crack quickly. The duel hero being hurt, he let go of the blonde girl and fell next to her. Leona quickly got up and ran towards Shubham while shouting:

"You saved me!"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Shubham replied and stared with disgust at Atsuto. "Worthless do-gooder."

The two minions of Kaizer ran off to search for their master. Meanwhile the fight between the two creatures got interrupted when Skull Moon disappeared at the order of its master. Blane also saw that EP had been wounded by the creature and ordered it to disappear and return to his card. The creature did as it was told and it disappeared, all that was left being a fire card known as Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame.

The edge of the crater began to crack even quicker and rocks out of it were falling into the lava. Yet Atsuto could not get up to save himself. Subaru tried to approach him but many cracks appeared with each step he was making next to the wounded duelist. The duel hero would have probably fallen into the lava before he would reach him.

"This is it, disappear from my heart, darkness…" Atsuto mumbled.

"Atsuto, you idiot, what are you doing? Get out of there!" Subaru shouted.

"I can't, Subaru, my wounds are too big."

"Come back, Atsuto!"

"Don't worry; I'll be back, as soon as the darkness disappears…"

The cracks began to intensify to the point where the rocks on which Atsuto was lying fell as well towards the lava. Right then Atsuto had a vision of Kaizer being surrounded by a black fog staring down upon him with his red eyes.

"A hero to the end, huh? Pathetic human." Kaizer said mockingly.

"I did it; I fought off your evil." Atsuto replied with a smile of happiness on his face.

The vision got torn apart until it disappeared and that was when Atsuto's eyes returned to their normal colors, the darkness inside him vanishing forever.

"Come back, Atsuto!" Subaru shouted once again after rushing to the edge.

"I've returned, Subaru. I have finally returned…" Atsuto said with the same smile on his face.

In the next moment, Duel Hero Atsuto disappeared in the pool of lava under the shocked stares of Subaru, Tsugumi, Hanna and Blane.

Leona and Shubham got reunited with Kaizer, Alwyn and Alien and told them what happened. Seeing that there was no way he could find the map piece that day, Kaizer interrupted the duels and retreated with his minions.

Later that day, the five chosen duelists along with Hanna and Blane returned to the UFO and the others found out the terrible news of Atsuto's death. In honor of their fallen friend, Subaru held a small speech while staring with saddened eyes at his Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist card.

"Atsuto faced the biggest challenge he could've imagined. He almost became a minion of Kaizer's. But he fought the evil and won. It won't be the same without him, but I'm proud of what he did."


	14. The guardian angel

After Subaru held his speech in the memory of their fallen friend Atsuto, everyone in the UFO fell silent. During those moments the chosen darkness duelist reflected upon the things that happened that day: how Atsuto was corrupted by their enemy, how he struggled against the darkness and in the end how he died to triumph against Kaizer's control. Then the image of his former friend Shubham appeared in his mind, who was now working with Kaizer despite Kokujo's pleas to have him work with Subaru.

"If one joins Kaizer, there is no way back." Subaru thought. "If that's the case, then Shubham is truly my enemy now."

During those moments of silence, Tiger had set his eyes on the brown haired newcomer who wore sunglasses and a T shirt with the number 13 on it. The blonde teenager analyzed him just like a predator does with its prey. If there was the case, he would've attacked. But what disturbed Tiger more about him was his sunglasses, for he wasn't sure where or at whom he was looking at.

"So Subaru…" Tiger suddenly broke the silence. "Would you mind introducing your new buddy?"

"Oh, sorry for being so rude." The brown haired teenager suddenly burst and walked to the center of the room, gaining everyone's attention. "My name is Blane Kaminaga, and I am what you could call a wanderer."

At the hearing of those words, a small smile came to Hanna's face, the blue haired girl being happy to know that she wasn't the only wanderer around. However, Tiger kept asking questions, unimpressed of what he was shearing so far:

"And what your purpose here might be?"

"Well, Tiger, he's our guardian angel from what he's told us." Subaru explained.

"Our what? You can't be serious!" Tiger exclaimed.

"It's true." Blane nodded. "I've had my eyes on you for a long time."

"Oh great, a stalker, exactly what we've needed…"

"Now, now, kitty cat, I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hear your bitching and complaining in this moment."

In the next moment Tiger would have jumped at Blane and punched him for saying that, but Luna was the one who put her hand on his right arm to calm him down and said:

"It's alright, he didn't mean to."

"Tsh fine go on." Tiger said to Blane.

"I suppose you are all wondering why I am even interested in guarding you." Blane suggested.

"Yeah, you said that you were always there for us but never intervened until today." Tsugumi replied. "Just what interest do you have in our safety?"

"The first time I ever heard of the chosen duelists was after Rezo had gotten his hands on the Proof of Duelmaster and had taken over the world. Back then I was confused and didn't know what was going on, but one day when I was drinking in a bar I overheard some people talking about how the five chosen duelists had failed their mission of defeating Rezo the Red Priest. I thought that if this group of five brave heroes were the only thing that could end the Red Priest's tyranny, they would need help. I summoned my deck avatar – Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame – also known as EP, and we took off to the place where we heard the chosen duelists and their UFO were at. However, Rezo decided to change the planet after his own will and lock everyone's souls inside a haunted city. Luckily, EP protected me. And thus I lived to see what Rezo had turned our planet in to. I did sense that the chosen duelists had survived his plan because of the unleashed energies of their duels against his minions. I wandered around the deserted planet trying to find them until I saw a flying fortress take off in the sky which was soon chased by a red rocket. I realized that the chosen duelists had found the powerless Rezo and were pursuing him into space, so I summoned EP and we followed them. Sadly, they were much faster than EP and when I finally reached them… they were in the process of defeating Rezo at the roof of his castle that was in space. I watched with amazement how Rad, Edo, Sora, Tsugumi and Subaru lead by Kokujo's order delivered the final blow that destroyed the Red Priest once and for all. With him dead, the castle began to collapse, but they managed to get out there safely. Ever since then, I decided to hang out near you guys and if you ever needed help, I would've intervened. So that's pretty much it."

"Wait a minute, Blane! You said that you would've intervened whenever you considered that we needed help, right?"

"Yes, that's right, Subaru."

"Then what about the times I was up against my father, or the psychic creature hunt, or the Zeta Wars, or the final showdown at the tournament? Don't you think that we probably couldn't handle the situation then?"

"You're still alive and in front of me, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Today that lava could've killed you. I came and helped you. I was a man of my word."

"So you want to protect us because you want to help do some good for this world?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yes. And besides, it's my nature to give a helping hand." Blane smiled to the girl.

"I don't get why you must wear those sunglasses. It's winter, after all." Tiger brought up.

"Oh, that… Well, let's just say that cool fashion requires it."

It didn't take much for Tiger to form his opinion on Blane. After discussing with him, he had come to the conclusion that Blane was an overconfident punk who had stuck his tail where it didn't belong. He would've wanted nothing more than to tell Blane that he was getting in their way and have him leave them alone. However, the chosen nature duelist was woken from his thoughts when a voice broke the silence yet again:

"So you say you're using Eternal Phoenix, huh?"

Tiger looked to the right and saw Nolan approaching Blane with his deck in his hands.

"That must imply that you're using Dragons, right?" Nolan continued and Blane nodded to him. "Cool, I also use Dragons. Wanna see whose are better?"

"Sure, a duel sounds fine to me!" Blane replied and took out his deck which glowed with a bright red aura that almost seemed like a raging flame.

"Wow, awesome!" Tamma exclaimed while staring at Blane with admiration.

"Yeah, he truly seems powerful." Subaru added.

Nolan took Blane to the training room where there were many dueling tables. The chosen duelists and Hanna followed them and installed themselves in the room. Nolan and Blane sat at a dueling table that was closer to the door, Tiger sat in a corner against the wall with his arms crossed staring at them and the others sat close to the table.

"Let's begin this match, shall we?" Nolan suggested and put his deck on the table.

"Heh, it will be my pleasure!" Blane replied with a confident grin on his face.

"Shields up!" both shouted.

The two duelists each set five cards on the table and drew five in their hands. Nolan decided to be first, so he set Invincible Cataclysm in his mana zone and ended. Blane drew a card and then set Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper in his mana zone. Nolan repeated the drawing and charging mana game in his second turn. Then when Blane's second turn came, he finally did a real move after putting Cocco Gil Lupia in his mana zone.

"I cast Faerie Life." Blane said and then he put the top card of his deck, Eternal Meteor Kaiser, into his mana zone.

"My, my, using big Dragons, are we?" Nolan said while drawing and charging mana. "I think it's time I prepared ground for some Dragons as well… I summon Dragon Flare Egg!"

"That Egg strongly depends on luck. Now let's see if you'll have it, Nolan. Anyway, I charge mana and summon Cocco Lupia."

Now it was Nolan's turn. Due to Dragon Flare Egg's effect, he revealed the top card of his deck. If it was not a non-evolution Dragon, then he had to put it into the graveyard. Luckily for him, the card was Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon.

"Perfect! I destroy Dragon Flare Egg and put Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon into the battle zone!" Nolan said and tossed one card to his graveyard while putting the other into his battle zone.

"Heh, not bad." Blane complimented.

"And now I summon Super Go On Pippi which makes all my creatures with Dragon and Hunter in their race speed attackers!"

Blane's eyes widened in shock at the hearing of those words and the others who were watching the duel got impressed as well.

"Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon is now a speed attacker, but it can also untap the first time it attacks." Luna said.

"Which means that Nolan's creature will attack twice this turn." Subaru added.

"That's awesome! Go Nolan!" Tamma cheered.

"Ike, Fighting Spirit!, double break his shields!" Nolan ordered and an energy wave came out of his card and pushed two cards from Blane's shield zone to his hand. "Then I untap Fighting Spirit! and attack once again, double break his shields!"

The attack was repeated once again, but this time a sly smile appeared on Blane's face as he took the two cards in his hand. He showed both to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Super Go On Pippi, then I also cast Natural Snare and send Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon to your mana zone!"

"Oh crap…" Nolan sweated while he saw the two cards get bounced off his battle zone, one landing in his graveyard, the other in his mana zone.

"Now it's time for me to rock, I summon Bolshack Yamato Dragon! Go, Bolshack Yamato Dragon, double break his shields! Cocco Lupia, break his shield!" Blane ordered and two energy waves came out of his cards and bounced three of Nolan's shields to his hand. "Hah, how do ya like this?"

"Shield trigger, I cast DNA Spark!"

Due to the card's effect, Nolan put the top card of his deck on his shield zone. However, that didn't seem to bother Blane at all. He was in field advantage and Nolan had to find a way out of that situation.

"I summon Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law!" Nolan said while placing the light creature in the battle zone.

"Hm, a blocker that when destroyed it allows him to fetch a shield trigger spell in his hand. He must be up to something." Blane thought.

Now it was once again Blane's turn. His hand glowed once again with the same fire-like red aura from before. Nolan realized that he was about to pull a major move, so he prepared himself for the worse.

"Vortex Evolution!" Blane exclaimed while putting his Cocco Lupia card under his Bolshack Yamato Dragon card and then placing a third card upon the stack. "Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame!"

A red and gold phoenix that was holding four long blades with its wings appeared behind Blane as a hologram and Nolan, Subaru and Tamma stared at it with amazement.

"Meet my little friend – EP!" Blane introduced his creature to the others.

"It's the same creature that saved us back there…" Subaru mumbled.

"That thing is awesome!" Tamma exclaimed in awe.

"Eternal Phoenix…" Nolan murmured while staring at the creature.

"And now… I end my turn." Blane announced.

"Alright then." Nolan replied and drew his next card, stared at it for a few seconds and then turned to his opponent. "You're pulling out your trump card? I think I'm going to do the same thing!"

"Go on."

"Ok… I evolve Ultimus into Bolshack Ulpheus, Holy Dragon!"

A majestic angelic dragon with fire wings, golden armor and a golden sword with a sharp blue laser blade appeared behind Nolan and was face to face with Blane's Eternal Phoenix.

"With its effect I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon and turn all my shields into shield triggers! Now go, Bolshack Ulpheus, break his final shield!" Nolan ordered.

"Thanks… Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone!" Blane said and Nolan understood from the look on his face that the duel was about to be over. "Now it's time to show you the real power of Dragons!"

"Tsh, this should be interesting." Tiger whispered to himself.

"I summon Bolbalzak Ex!" Blane said after tapping his seven mana cards and then he put the card in his battle zone and untapped all of the mana cards. "Bolbalzak's effect lets me untap all my mana cards, and now I cast Whirlwind Tailspin!"

"Whirlwind Tailspin! That spell will make the next creature you summon cost 1 mana less and give it speed attacker." Nolan remarked.

"Indeed, and look what I'm going to pull out!" Blane replied and showed a fire creature card that costed 7 mana, had 7000 power and the image of a four legged and winged mechanical blue and white dragon. "I summon Bolmeteus Steel Dragon!"

"Bolmeteus Steel Dragon! That creature sends the shields that it breaks to its owner's graveyard." Luna explained.

"And Whirlwind Tailspin's effect makes it a speed attacker." Subaru added. "That means that Nolan…"

"Woo hoo, go Blane!" Tamma cheered on.

"Bolmeteus Steel Dragon, break two shields!" Blane ordered and the wave that came out of his Bolmeteus card bounced Nolan's shield cards to the graveyard, those being Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law and DNA Spark. "Bolbalzak Ex, break his final shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Eternal Meteor Kaiser!" Nolan said.

"Memories of the Planetary Dragon could've really helped you in this case had it not been for my Bolmeteus. However pal, this game's over! EP, finish him off!"

The phoenix screeched and attacked Nolan, and even if it was a hologram he still was thrown against the wall with his cards following him. Tamma yelled with happiness for Blane's victory and Subaru, Tsugumi and Luna complimented him as well. Meanwhile Hanna walked up to the defeated Nolan and helped him pack up his cards and get up.

"Here, this belongs to you." Hanna said while handing Nolan his deck.

"Th-thanks." Nolan replied while blushing.

"I'm sorry that you lost. The duel could've been yours."

"Yeah. Still, if I want to help my friends, I should build a better deck! If Blane is a tough challenge, then I don't want to imagine how Kaizer and Tigra will be when I'll have to face them."

"I like your ambition. Oh well, good luck with that, Nolan!"

A few hours passed and the sun was about to set. Tiger, Luna and Nolan had retreated into their rooms, Blane was sitting with Subaru and Tamma in the kitchen and Hanna was about to leave the UFO and Tsugumi was walking with her to the exit.

"What are you going to do now, Hanna-san?" Tsugumi asked.

"I don't know, Tsugumi-chan, I think I'll probably continue wandering. There must be some new purpose for me in this life." Hanna replied.

"Why don't you stay here and work with us?"

"Haha, don't worry Tsugumi. Blane isn't the only one who can come in the right moment and at the right time. I'll be there when you guys will need me. That's what friends do."

And so the two girls bid their farewells. Hanna left the UFO and walked towards the sunset while Tsugumi sat at the spaceship's door and watched her good friend disappear in the horizon. But even if they were going on different paths yet again, they both knew that fate would make sure that they would meet again.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Blane was telling Subaru and Tamma his adventures and both chosen duelists were staring at him with their jaws dropped.

"And then I climbed out of the sewer and rescued the little boy." Blane proudly said.

"Wow that was totally awesome!" Tamma exclaimed.

"Exactly, and you did it in just a matter of minutes as well!" Subaru added.

"It was a piece of cake, guys." Blane said while blowing the small dust off his fingers. "But did I tell you about that one time when I saved a baby that was lying in a carriage from falling off a cliff?"

"No you didn't." Subaru said.

"Yeah, tell us, we wanna know!" Tamma insisted.

"Alright! It all started on a nice afternoon. I was sitting at a restaurant in the outskirts of a city having a good ol' lunch when I heard some cries coming from the citizens. I got up and looked to see what was going on only to notice a baby carriage descending with speed from the top of a hill which was heading to the edge of a cliff. I knew there was no time to climb the hill, so I used my powers and summoned EP. We flew to that cliff and I jumped off EP's back and stopped the carriage with both hands. Then EP helped me take the carriage back to the city where the mother was waiting for her child."

"But how did the carriage get on the top of that hill on the first place?" Subaru asked.

"It seemed that someone tried to kidnap the baby but utterly failed." Blane explained.

And so hours passed by and the two chosen duelists kept listening to Blane's epic adventures up to the point where Tamma fell asleep with his head on the metallic table. That was when Blane got up, took a drink to refresh his dry mouth after so much talking, and then decided that it was time for him to go as well. Subaru assisted him to the exit of the UFO and on their way they had a more serious chat.

"Subaru, now that it's just the two of us, do you want to know why I really showed up to you guys?"

"To save our lives of course."

"Not only that, but I had also a more serious motive." Blane said and took a piece of paper with lines drawn on it out of his pockets. "This is part of a map that was torn in five pieces. Kaizer was after this at the volcano."

"A map piece? But what would Kaizer want to do with this piece of paper?" Subaru asked.

"It took me some time to spy on him, but from what I've heard him speak, the witch known as Tabitha Lenox had created a map that leads to a hidden temple in which she hid the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened right before the Duel Masters tournament had begun. She tore the map in five pieces and scattered them around the world in places that could pose great challenges to those that seek them. Kaizer wants to complete the map so that he can find the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta."

"Devil Diabolos Zeta… What could Kaizer want to do with that monster?"

"I don't know yet, Subaru, but it's certainly something we should worry about!"

Blane then handed the map piece to Subaru and the black haired teen looked at him with confusion in his eyes.

"I'm leaving this into your protection. I think it's much safer here than with me when I am wandering who knows where."

"I understand. Don't worry, Blane, you can count on us!"

"Of course I am, you're the chosen duelists after all. Also Subaru…" Blane said and searched his pockets once again. "You wearing that red headband and making your hair spiky means that you've also brought some changes to your deck, right?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"And let me guess, you've switched to Darkness/Fire, am I right?"

"Yes, you're right."

"Then take this!"

Blane took out a fire card from his pocket and tossed it at Subaru who quickly grabbed it. The chosen duelist stared at it and saw that it was a fire creature with cost 6, power 6000 and that it was a Dragon.

"Bolshack Superhero…" Subaru read its name.

"Yeah, I think that with your revival spells it could work nicely, especially since you like destruction." Blane said. "Oh well, I hope you use it wisely!"

"Thanks, Blane, I will!"

"And one more thing Subaru…" Blane changed his tone to a serious one.

"Yes?"

"Whatever you do, don't duel Leona! I don't want you guys face her!"

"How come? She doesn't seem that dangerous to me."

"Trust me, Subaru, she is VERY dangerous! When she challenges you to a duel, you'd better run away because you won't come out of a match with her alive!"

"I understand…" Subaru said and for a moment felt a chill go down his spine.

Once they reached the door, Blane summoned Eternal Phoenix and took off while bidding farewells to Subaru, but both boys knew that they would meet again very soon, since the chosen duelists would need all the help they could get to fight against Kaizer.

At the volcano, Kaizer came out of the cave all angered while Leona, Shubham, Alien and Alwyn were waiting for him at its entrance. Seeing him not in the best mood he's ever had, they began to tremble with fear except for Leona who got up, looked him in the eye and asked:

"Did you manage to find the map piece, Kaizer-sama?"

"No I didn't, Leona. Where could it be? I've searched every inch of this blasted volcano!"

"Kaizer-sama, may I suggest that the map was probably stolen?"

"If that's so, then who did it, Leona?"

"Maybe someone found it… and took it to the chosen duelists."

Kaizer then remembered the strange figure that stood in his way the first time he searched for the map in the cave. If that figure was on the side of the chosen duelists, then Leona's suggestion was more than correct.

"Alright, tonight we are paying the chosen duelists another visit!" Kaizer announced.


	15. The battle at the UFO

Later that night, the lights were mostly off at the UFO. Everyone was sleeping in their rooms except for Subaru and Tsugumi. The couple was sitting in the living room, both looking at the map piece from Blane which was lying on a glass table.

"From the places where it seems that it was torn, I'm guessing that it's probably the lower part on the right of the map." Subaru examined. "Though I may be wrong."

"I don't think you are; those margins on the down and right sides lack any sort of tearing up, so your theory must be correct." Tsugumi added. "Now if only we knew what those lines represented."

"Hm… Without any colors, these lines will be hard to decipher. We don't even have any words to show us where the ocean is and where the continent is." Subaru continued.

"What's worse, we don't have any inscriptions, names, anything on this map! Just a few lines… This will be harder than we've thought." Tsugumi sighed.

All of a sudden, they both heard knocks coming from the main door. They looked at the clock and saw that there was an hour past midnight. Tsugumi began to panic but Subaru gave her the map piece and said:

"Hide it in your clothes. Then we'll go and check out who's there."

"Alright." Tsugumi nodded and slid the piece of paper in her pocket.

The two chosen duelists slowly approached the main door while making silent steps so they wouldn't be heard by the others. Once they were in front of the door, Subaru swallowed with fear and said to his lover:

"Brace yourself, my dear."

"I am." Tsugumi replied and prepared herself for the worse.

Subaru put his hand on the red button that opened the door and slowly pressed it. But just as the door began to pull itself in a semicircular rotation inside and open the way for the unexpected guests, Subaru suddenly realized something. The black haired boy calmed down and turned to Tsugumi while saying:

"Ah, don't worry; it's probably that idiot Shubham."

"Um, Subaru…" Tsugumi tried to speak while seeing that it was indeed Shubham the one outside, but since Subaru was with his head turned to her, he didn't notice him.

"He'll probably try to threaten us with some bullshit so that we would surrender the Proof to him." Subaru continued and Shubham sweated and began to get angered. "Haha, doesn't this guy ever learn? We wouldn't give two cents for his stupid threats even if our lives depended on it."

"Subaru, you might want to look and see who is outside." Tsugumi suggested after seeing Shubham's face turn red with rage.

"Nah, I'm probably going to die laughing if I turn to see what retard is trying to not fail at being evil." Subaru replied and slammed the door in Shubham's face.

"Well, you do know that Shubham was outside just now, right?"

"Oh, he was? Well, it serves him right!"

Once again the two heard knocks at the door, but this time they were louder and sounded more metallic, as if some strong metal was knocking it. Subaru sighed and the boredom and apathy could be clearly sensed inside him.

"Tsugumi, if the person outside is who I think it is…" Subaru said while pressing the red button and watching the door slowly open. "…then prepare yourself for a long and boring speech."

"My God… it's Kaizer!" Tsugumi exclaimed once she saw the armored duelist at their door.

"Good evening, dear neighbors, our UFO has recently moved right next door as you can see." Kaizer said and gesticulated with his hand at Alien's UFO which was parked a few feet away from that of the chosen duelists'. "And I was wondering if you would be so kind as to borrow us a bottle of milk so that we may have the ingredients to cook dinner tonight, and maybe if you could also be nice and restore to us the map piece that we were looking for at the volcano?"

Subaru and Tsugumi stared at him with unimpressed looks and the black haired chosen duelist slammed the door in Kaizer's face as well. A few moments of awkward silence passed and then Subaru opened the door once again and said:

"I still like your costume."

And with those words being said, Subaru once again slammed the door in Kaizer's nose.

"What was that all about?" Tsugumi asked after being confused of what she saw.

"I'm not sure, but I can tell you one thing – this Kaizer is one weird fellow." Subaru replied and Tsugumi chuckled.

"Hihi, tell me about it."

In the next moment an explosion blew off the door and threw Subaru and Tsugumi a few feet away, both landing on the cold metallic floor. Kaizer entered once again the UFO, this time being followed by his four loyal minions.

"I will never understand why you chosen duelists always prefer the hard way." Kaizer said to them as they were getting up on their feet.

"That's because we're not so stupid as to give in the demands of a psycho!" Tsugumi answered directly.

"Why I am no psycho. And besides, I always viewed asking politely for things as being much easier and nicer than destroying and taking things by force."

A room's door opened and all of a sudden a bottle of glass was cast out of it. The bottle hit Kaizer's helmet with such power that it almost blew it off his body. The glass shattered and the other four minions of Kaizer took cover as the sharp shards fell outside of the UFO. An angered Tiger came out of his room dressed in yellow pajamas with black spots and the blonde teen shouted at his enemy:

"Stop making noises when people are trying to have some sleep, douche!"

Soon thereafter, Luna and Tamma came out of their rooms as well and joined the furious Tiger, though the two were not dressed for sleep yet.

"Yeah, your noises are disturbing me from reading my science book!" Luna added and showed a manga in her right hand that had a pink cover and Subaru and Edo drawn on it. "Oops, that's the wrong book."

Luna blushed and quickly hid the manga in her skirt's pocket.

"Are these guys really our challenges?" Leona asked Kaizer while sweating.

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing." Kaizer responded to the girl.

"Alright, enough with the comic relief, why are you here, Kaizer?" Subaru demanded.

"I am here to take back the map piece that you have stolen from me." Kaizer calmly answered.

"Sorry, no can do!" Tiger intervened and took out his deck.

"I will duel… her!" Kaizer said and pointed to Tsugumi. "She is the one that I want to face!"

"In that case Tiger boy is all mine!" Leona exclaimed and showed her deck to Tiger. "Waddaya say, kitty, tough enough to face a true Lioness?"

"Tsh, I'll take out your fangs one by one!" Tiger provoked her.

"Anyway… should we duel in the training room?" Subaru suggested.

"I agree. We'll make less damage." Kaizer replied.

"Since when were you so concerned with their UFO?" Shubham asked.

"It's always polite to not make lots of mess in other people's houses." Kaizer said.

And so the ten duelists all went to the training room in the UFO. Each chose their own respective tables and thus their matches began. It was Tsugumi VS Kaizer, Tiger VS Leona, Subaru VS Shubham, Tamma VS Alwyn and Luna VS Alien.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Tsugumi said and made Kaizer discard Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade.

"The chosen light duelist using darkness. This is a new one for me. Anyway, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card." Kaizer said.

"Why I've got so much more surprises for you! I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

Tsugumi revealed the top 3 cards of her deck and those were Heaven's Gate, Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow! Then I take the other two to my hand." Tsugumi said while smiling with superiority to Kaizer.

"Indeed, it was a great move, Tsugumi Shirayama." Kaizer complimented. "I summon Qurian and draw a card. Then I end."

"I summon Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier."

"I cast Eureka Charger, draw a card and put Eureka Charger in my mana zone."

"Why is Kaizer so concentrated on drawing cards? He must be up to something." Tsugumi thought.

Meanwhile at Tiger VS Leona, Tiger had all his shields intact and Taiga, the Warrior Savage and Iron Arm Tribe in his battle zone. Leona had four shields left and Murmur, Apostle of Formation and Hatchaki in her battle zone.

"I summon Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force and put Boost, Crimson Lord in the battle zone! Boost's effect destroys Murmur!" Tiger smirked and watched Leona's card get bounced to the graveyard. "Taiga, Iron Arm Tribe, break her shields!"

"I think it's time I got serious." Leona replied and tapped her five mana. "I summon Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and draw a card. Now Hatchaki takes out Iron Arm Tribe and with its effect I put Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon in the battle zone! How do you like that, Tiger boy?"

"I liked it. But let's see if you'll also like THIS – Boost, Crimson Lord evolve into Quatro Fang, Burning Soul!"

A huge sumo-like warrior made of flames, with an X mark on its chest and the head of a tiger appeared behind Tiger as a hologram.

"And what this excuse for a proud cat might be?" Leona mocked.

"Meet Tora, princess kitty cat! He's the one that will pull out your fangs and shut your arrogant mouth!" Tiger said.

"Hah, let's see if you can back that claim."

"Oh I can alright, Tora double break her shields!"

Tiger tapped the card and a beam came out of it that pushed two of Leona's shields to her hand and the Energy Stream from her mana zone to her graveyard. Also, the top card of Tiger's deck went to his mana zone. The girl with blonde mane grinned once she saw the two cards and showed them to her opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Quatro Fang back to your hand! Then shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and put HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Codename Orewaleo into the battle zone!"

"Shit… I end." Tiger mumbled angrily.

"Then it's my turn, I summon King Kere and send Taiga, the Warrior Savage back to your hand! And now, dear Tiger, since Codename Orewaleo allows all my blockers to attack, you're done for, hahaha!" Leona laughed at him. "Codename Orewaleo, double break his shields! Hatchaki, break his shield and put Deepsea Dober into the battle zone! Aqua Surfer, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!" Tiger said and Leona's Hatchaki and Aqua Surfer bounced off her battle zone and landed in her graveyard. "Tsh, if only I would've got it sooner…"

"Heh, you're done for! Perfect Madonna, break his final shield!"

Towards Tiger's disappointment, there was no shield trigger to be found in his last shield. That was it, he had lost the duel.

"If only this were a kaijudo duel… you would've been history!" Leona declared. "Oh well, HEIKE Double Cross, todomeda!"

Even though the creature was a hologram, its attack pushed Tiger powerfully until he hit the opposing wall hardily. Leona laughed and cherished her victory.

At Subaru VS Shubham, things didn't look too bright for Subaru. He had only one shield left and Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon in the battle zone, whereas Shubham had four shields and Zabi Fly, the Pillager, Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess and Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow tapped, while Zabi Barrel, Western Doll was untapped in his battle zone.

"Hahaha, let's see you escape out of this situation, Subaru!" Shubham challenged.

"Oh crap… I'll need some hard luck to come out of this one!" Subaru thought but then he felt a small pulse coming from his deck.

"Well, it's your turn."

"Alright, but you asked for it, Shubham!" Subaru said and his hand began to glow with a red light as he drew his next card. "I summon Bolshack Superhero!"

"What the-" Shubham barely spoke as he saw all his creatures fall into his graveyard. "But how?"

"Bolshack Superhero destroys all creatures with power 3000 or less, which means that my Fuuma Bajir is also destroyed." Subaru said and then he discarded Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman from Shubham's hand.

"Tsh, since Zabi Fly was destroyed, I'll also discard a card from your hand!" Shubham said and the card that he discarded from Subaru's hand went straight into the battle zone. "What? Impossible!"

"Oh yes, it is possible! When Ribbit NICE Hanzou is discarded from my hand by the effect of one of your creatures or spells, it is put into the battle zone!"

"Grr… that's it! You've played with me for the last time! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

Shubham revealed the top three cards of his deck which were Cebu Aquman Jr, Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and Hyperspatial Gallows Hole. Since all were water cards, all went to his graveyard.

"HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?" Shubham yelled out his anger.

"Bad luck?" Subaru suggested. "Anyway, I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and destroy Cebu Aquman Jr. Bolshack Superhero, double break his shields! Then Ribbit NICE Hanzou, break his shield!"

Meanwhile at Tamma VS Alwyn, since both had rush creatures, both had managed to take out each other's shields in seven turns and destroy each other's creatures. Now it all depended on who would draw the first speed attacker to finish the other off.

"Finally I will be able to finish off that brat! Yes, come, great speed attacker! Help Alwyn the Onsen defeat Tamma!" Alwyn exclaimed and drew his next card only to get disappointed. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING, LA! OUT OF THE FOUR SPEED ATTACKERS IN THIS DECK I DIDN'T DRAW AT LEAST ONE!"

"Are you going to do your turn or not?" Tamma asked while sweating.

"Fine, I summon Leo Way, Earth Brethren and end! Next turn you done for, ah!" Alwyn declared.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Tamma said and smiled slyly to Alwyn while tapping five mana. "I summon Genji Boy and with him I bare you… todomeda!"

Alwyn yelled angrily that he lost yet again to the red haired boy that was younger than him and then the almighty Onsen got blown against the wall.

Meanwhile at Luna VS Alien, both players had their five shields intact. Alien had Emperor Cebu Marco X and Gaga Crouton, the Prophet in the battle zone, whereas Luna had Corile and Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows.

"I evolve Gaga Crouton into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits! Go, Gaga Alcadeias, triple break her shields! Emperor Cebu Marco X, break her final shields!" Alien ordered and two waves came out of his cards that pushed all of Luna's five shields to her hand.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!" Luna said and a red robot with 3 heads, fire arms, and water throwers appeared behind Luna as a hologram to join the other one who was its psychic version. "Meet Pinky, my deck avatar! Actually, both normal creature and psychic creature Hot Spring Gallows are my avatars, so meet both Pinkys!"

Both creatures roared loudly but Alien stared at them without showing any kind of emotion whatsoever. Luna then drew her next card and spoke to her opponent:

"Alright, Mister Alien, it's time to finish this! I summon Doskoi Firststar and with its effect I turn Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows into a triple breaker! Then with Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows' effect I send Doskoi Firststar to the top of my deck and then put it back into the battle zone once again, using its effect once more and turning Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows into a quadruple breaker!"

"Impossible, this cannot be happening!" Alien exclaimed, finally showing some emotion.

"Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, send four of his shields to the top of his deck!" Luna ordered and Alien watched disappointed how four cards from his shield zone got bounced and landed on the top of his deck, thus rendering the use of shield triggers impossible. "Corile, break his final shield! Any shield trigger, Mister Alien?"

"I've got none…"

"Very well, then I hope you have a nice trip! Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows, todomeda! Get him, Pinky!"

The holographic creature did its attack and Alien was blasted against the wall, joining Alwyn in defeat. Now the only duels left were Tsugumi VS Kaizer and Subaru VS Shubham.

The situation wasn't too bright for Tsugumi at all. Kaizer managed to get rid of her control for most of the part and now had Aqua Surfer and Ultimus, Spirit of Divine Law in the battle zone and two shields. The chosen light duelist had Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory in her battle zone and also two shields left. However, she wasn't down just yet.

"My turn, I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper and evolve it into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia! Now you won't be able to cast spells other than multicolored spells!" Tsugumi said. "Go, Joan of Arc, tap both his creatures and break his last shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows." Kaizer calmly said.

"Still, it's over! Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia, todomeda!"

"So you think! Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn it into a blocker! Now block the attack, Falconer!"

"Such power…" Tsugumi muttered.

"And more is yet to come! I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card and then… Super Infinite Evolution! I evolve Hot Spring Crimson Meow, Aqua Surfer and Ultimus into Destruction Destroyer, Infinite King!" Kaizer declared and put the said card on the top of a stack of three other cards in the battle zone.

A bright light came out of the card that Kaizer used and the dueling table broke in two halves and pushed both duelists in the opposite directions. Tsugumi's two shields materialized along with her Queen Alcadeias and Joan of Arc and Kaizer's Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows. However, out of the bright light came a giant robotic angel with red armor that had two pairs of wings, the upper ones being made of flames and the lower ones of water. Tsugumi stared in awe at the magnificent creature.

"He turned the duel into a kaijudo duel…" Subaru barely said.

"And now Kaizer-sama is going to finish blondie off." Shubham added.

"Go, Hot Spring Gallows, send her last shields to the top of her deck!" Kaizer ordered and Hot Spring Gallows did its hot water sprinkle attack upon Tsugumi's last two shields, making them disappear, their cards going to the top of her deck and leaving the girl defenseless in front of him. "And now… you're all mine!"

"No, Tsugumi!" Subaru exclaimed worried.

"Destruction Destroyer, Infinite King, todomeda!"

The creature roared and created an energy ball in its left hand which it cast upon the blonde girl. Tsugumi floated in the air defeated but then Kaizer fired a purple beam upon her. Subaru rushed from his dueling table to stop Kaizer but only a stomp of his foot in the floor was enough to shake the chosen darkness duelist and have him fall.

Kaizer flew in the air and made the girl's body end up face to face with him. The armored duelist stretched his hand forth and it glowed with a bright purple light that surrounded her entire body scanning it.

"So this is where you were hiding it!" Kaizer said and then put his other hand in her right pocket and pulled out the map piece.

When Subaru opened his eyes, he saw Tsugumi lying unconscious next to him and Leona and Shubham walking out of the dueling room with Alien and Alwyn on their backs. Kaizer was sitting in the center of the room with his arms crossed and the map piece in his right hand.

"K-Kaizer!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Don't worry; Tsugumi is not harmed at all. I just wanted the map piece from her, that's all." Kaizer assured him. "By the way, thank you for your cooperation."

"C-come back here…" Subaru said while trying to get up and follow Kaizer who was leaving the room.

Tamma and Luna were too afraid to even stand in Kaizer's way so they rushed to their wounded teammates to help them.

Meanwhile at the entrance of the UFO Robert appeared and he was amazed of how deserted the place seemed and how the front door was blown off.

"Wow, I wonder what happened here…" Robert said.

All of a sudden, a man dressed in purple knight armor with spikes, a red cape and a horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull appeared in the hall and walked towards him. Robert prepared his fists to fight him, sensing the danger. However, just as the armored person was just a meter away from him, he felt an incredible aura of evil surrounding it and he was so stupefied that he didn't have time to react when he passed him.

"Who… No, what are you?" Robert asked with fear.

"I am Kaizer." the being answered with a demonic voice, the simple sound of his name bringing chills down Robert's spine.


	16. Regeneration

Robert was astonished of what he had seen. Was that demonic being wearing a spiky armor Kaizer? It introduced itself as such, so it must have meant that it was true. When Robert finally recovered from the shock, he saw that Kaizer's UFO was long gone. Then a certain thought came to his mind and he exclaimed:

"Oh no, the chosen duelists!"

Robert rushed through the corridors trying to find his friends and was lucky to see Luna, Subaru and Tamma come out of a room holding the damaged Tsugumi and Tiger.

"Oh no… Guys!" Robert shouted and ran to them. "Are you alright?"

"Robert! Don't worry, we're fine." Subaru responded while walking with Tsugumi in his hands.

"What happened here?" Robert asked.

"That Kaizer freak attacked us! He's not fair at all!" Tamma complained.

"He defeated Tsugumi and Tiger." Luna added. "Also, he took a piece of paper from Tsugumi, I think that was what he was seeking."

"A piece of paper?" Robert said curiously while raising an eyebrow.

"That 'piece of paper' that she speaks of is a piece of map. I'll explain everything once we're sure that these two are stable." Subaru said.

"He is right; now our top concern is Tsugumi and Tiger." Luna supported.

Meanwhile Kaizer's UFO had taken off and was heading towards the east, at the Pacific. Inside Kaizer's minions were all rejoicing their victory, even if Alien and Alwyn were wearing a few bandages. Kaizer was sitting in the middle of the spaceship with the map piece in his hands, Alien was piloting it, and Alwyn, Leona and Shubham were all gathered around their master.

"We did it, Kaizer-sama! We showed them who the best is, la!" Alwyn cheered.

"It is indeed a great victory for us, Kaizer-sama! Those chosen duelists did not stand a chance against us!" Shubham cheered as well.

"You idiots, can't you see that Kaizer is not showing any signs of joy? A small victory doesn't mean that the war is won!" Leona suddenly interrupted them and then she turned to her master. "Is something wrong, Kaizer-sama?"

"I am trying to find out what is drawn on this map piece." Kaizer said while studying the lines. "Unless we realize where the next map piece is, we are going on a wild goose chase."

"Well, well, looks like somebody needs a little help." a voice resounded in Kaizer's head and then a black smoke appeared in front of him which only he could see.

"Tabitha!" Kaizer telepathically said. "This map was made by you, so you tell me where I should go next!"

"And miss the fun of watching you do the hard work? Hohoho, sorry but you'll have to find it by yourself. However, that doesn't mean I can't give you clues. And here's the clue that you deserve!"

The black smoke took the shape of a woman and then Tabitha waved her ghostly hands around the map piece. In the next moment words, points and arrows appeared on the map. Tabitha's ghost disappeared and Kaizer once again looked at the map. He saw the Philippines in the down right corner of the map as the starting point. The arrows were showing the path he had to follow and they were leading to the continent of Asia, even though only the peninsula of Indochina and the southern part of China were the only other pieces of land on the map piece Kaizer set his eyes on the X from the piece of paper which was located on mount Everest.

After moments of silence Kaizer raised his head from the map. Leona, Shubham and Alwyn all excitedly waited for news. The armored duelist then gave an order with his demonic voice:

"Alien, change the coordinates to Tibet! That is our next destination."

"As you wish, Kaizer-sama." Alien said and began to press buttons.

The next day at the chosen duelists' UFO we find Luna sleeping on a chair in the hospital room, Subaru and Robert still awake and talking to each other, Tamma sleeping in his own room and Tsugumi and Tiger lying on hospital beds with bandages on. During that night Subaru filled Robert in with everything that had happened in the UFO ever since he left – Leon Diez possessing Tamma, he changing his looks and deck at the request of Tamma, Atsuto being corrupted and subsequently sacrificing himself, Hanna and Blane offering their help, and finally Kaizer attacking the UFO and stealing the map piece.

"So that creepy guy with the spiky armor is Kaizer?" Robert asked and Subaru answered with a nod. "I've never seen anything like that before. When we first met, I felt like I was staring into the face of pure evil…"

"Indeed. I just wonder why is he so determined to get his hands on Devil Diabolos Zeta." Subaru replied. "I remember three months ago how that monster was destroying my city like it was nothing. It seemed like a miracle that we actually managed to defeat it. I wouldn't want to go through that hell once again."

"I understand… Subaru, I promise that I'll do the best I can to help you guys defeat Kaizer. I think that Tigra will have to wait a bit, right now we've got a bigger problem in our hands."

In the next moment Nolan burst into the room and yelled as loud as he could:

"GOOD MORNING GUYS, HOW WAS YOUR SLEEP?"

Luna fell on her back with the chair due to being waked up from her sleep all of a sudden. Subaru and Robert were both shocked by Nolan's appearance that they stared at him dumbfound instead of having a more active reaction.

"Hey what's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Nolan asked.

"Dude… why did you burst in like that?" Subaru began to speak. "Seriously, don't you know that we've got patients here?"

"Oh sorry, I just wanted to prank you guys, haha."

"Well knock it off, Nolan!"

"Nolan, it's good to see you again!" Robert exclaimed.

"Oh Robert, it's been some time indeed!" Nolan greeted him. "Say, do you have some time to chat?"

"Sure, if Subaru doesn't need me anymore."

"Nah, it's ok, you guys can go and discuss your own matters." Subaru told them and watched how the duo left the hospital room.

Once Robert and Nolan were out of the room, Luna got up and walked to the bed where Edo was lying in coma with wires attached to him. The blue haired girl stared at the unconscious brown haired boy with fascination in her deep blue eyes. She even took off her glasses so that she could see him better.

"So this is…" Luna murmured.

"Edo Kanda, the ex-chosen water duelist, your predecessor." Subaru intervened and joined the girl in staring at him.

"He looks… fascinating." Luna examined his face.

"He was my best friend…" Subaru said with a grave voice.

"I'm deeply sorry. But what exactly happened to him?"

Subaru sighed deeply and Luna felt that he felt rather uncomfortable with her question.

"I'm sorry; I didn't want to bring back harsh memories." Luna said and bowed to him respectfully.

"Nah, it's alright." Subaru replied and pulled a chair to him so that he could sit down. "It's a long story, and it started from the point where I've become a chosen duelist."

"I see." Luna spoke and quickly put on her glasses, then she took out her cyber notebook and an electric pen, and then she sat down on her chair. "Do go on."

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Nolan put a plate filled with pancakes on the table and then he joined Robert.

"I hope you like this breakfast that I've made." Nolan said.

"I have to say that I'm more into salads, but thanks anyway." Robert replied and then he took a pancake with his fork and put it on his plate.

"Anyway, what did you find out from that old guy, dude?"

"I had one hell of a ride, Nolan, that's what I can certainly tell you."

Fifteen minutes later at the hospital room, Subaru had just finished telling Luna all the adventures he and his best friend Edo had been through and how both had enjoyed every moment they spent together.

"So Edo was a very close person, right?" Luna asked after she finished taking her notes.

"No, Luna, he was more than that…" Subaru replied and sighed.

"Oh really?" the blue haired girl kept asking and then the images from Sora's yaoi manga began to pump in her head.

"Yes, Edo-kun was the best man I've ever seen." Subaru kept speaking in a voice filled with regret. "I couldn't have asked for a better person in my life."

"Oh… my… God!" Luna exclaimed while blushing heavily. "So it's true! You two were lo…"

"Best friends forever."

"…what?"

"What, Luna? We were really close friends. What were you thinking of?"

"Oh nothing, nothing!"

The blue haired girl stared at the unconscious brown haired boy once again and the fascination in her eyes grew even more. All the heroic stories she had heard about him and the way Subaru described him was growing her interest in him even more. Suddenly she burst out and said:

"Subaru, I've got a plan!"

"What are you talking about, Luna?" Subaru asked with a confused look on his face.

"If I have your permission… please let me try and heal Edo!" Luna said while changing her face from the typical shy girl to the one of a mad scientist.

"I don't know. Are you sure? I mean, all the doctors that checked him said that there was nothing left to be done."

"I am no doctor, Subaru, but I am the chosen water duelist, so trust me!"

"I really don't know, Luna…" Subaru said and began to think it out.

Tension was running high as Luna was staring at Subaru nervously waiting for the answer that would probably change their lives. Everything was depending on one single sentence. After a few moments Subaru opened his mouth and then Luna widened her eyes.

"Alright, you can do it." Subaru said and Luna cheered loudly. "But be careful and don't hurt him, ok?"

"Thank you so much, Subaru, I promise you won't regret it!" Luna assured him with excitement.

Back at Nolan and Robert, time went out really fast. Nolan was listening to Robert's narrating and paying attention to each and every detail. Robert told him about how he found the old man that Nolan sent him to whose name was Bob Williams, an ex-THEM member that had left the organization once he had seen how evil Tigra was. He was hiding in a mansion far away from civilization trying to live a normal life. When he heard that Robert wanted to know about THEM, at first he was scared but then he calmed down and began to tell him lots of information. Robert found out that the THEM headquarters were actually basements in important buildings such as city halls or banks. Also THEM members had their own special salutes to recognize each other when they were not wearing robes. Tigra was interested in recruiting only strong and influential people into THEM because that way she could further her own power. To make things worse, Bob told Robert that THEM was preparing a master plan with horrible consequences for the whole world. That was why he left the organization and tried to pursue a normal life. When Robert left and was a few kilometers away from Bob's house, he heard an explosion. It seemed that THEM were spying on the poor man's house all that time.

With the story being ended, Nolan sighed with sadness and said:

"Poor guy, it seemed that he couldn't get away from THEM no matter what."

"He tried his best. But hey, at least we got a pattern now!" Robert replied with a smile on his face.

"Thanks for the info, dude." Nolan said and then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck. "Say, you want to test out my new deck?"

"Sure, let's go for it!"

The duo headed to the training room, chose a table and thus began their duel. It was a normal match with no creatures brought to the real world.

"I cast Ghost Touch." Robert said and discarded Peace Lupia from Nolan's hand. "Then Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight for free."

"I summon Cheering Pippi." Nolan said and placed the said card onto the table.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"Alright, Robert, it's time to heat things up a little!"

Nolan smirked and tapped four mana. Then he showed another fire card to Robert which surprised him.

"I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Nolan said and then he tapped the card once he put it into the battle zone making a wave come out and bounce three of Robert's cards into the air. "Attack and destroy Maxval! Then double break his shields!"

"Woah, that was an awesome move!" Robert complimented.

"Hehe, thanks."

"Anyway Nolan, it's my turn, and I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!"

"I think this will end soon, Robert. Cheering Pippi's ability is really useful to me now, and you'll see exactly how useful it is!"

Nolan tapped five mana and showed yet another fire card.

"I summon Tornado Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

"Oh great…" Robert said sweating.

"Genji Double Cross, attack, destroy Bloody Shadow and double break his shields again!" Nolan ordered and three more cards bounced off Robert's side of the table.

"Not so fast, Nolan! Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!"

Nolan's Cheering Pippi and Tornado Shiva Double Cross got tapped and then Robert put the top card of his deck into the shield zone.

"And now it's time for a comeback – I evolve Ashliger into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" Robert said and placed the said card upon the Ashliger card. "Queen Alcadeias, take down Tornado Shiva Double Cross!"

"Not bad, not bad at all." Nolan smiled to him and then he drew his next card. "I summon Aeris, Spirit of Flight. Now Genji Double Cross, break his final shields!"

Robert looked at his last two shields and then he smiled back to his opponent. He showed one of them to him and said:

"Sorry, but I'm not out just yet! Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Cheering Pippi back to your hand!"

"Heh, great move, you've bought for more time." Nolan complimented.

"Now it's time to turn the tides in my favor." Robert declared. "I cast Hades Death Gate, destroy Aeris and revive Maxval! Now Queen Alcadeias, destroy Genji Double Cross!"

Now it was all or nothing for Nolan. If the next card he drew wouldn't be something that would save him, then Robert would take control over the field and win the game in two turns. Tension was running high as he put his hand on his deck and slowly lifted the card up. Once he saw what he drew, he looked at Robert and said:

"Good game!"

"Huh?" the rich boy responded sweating.

"I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Nolan said excitedly and put the card on the table. "Ike, Genji Double Cross, destroy Maxval and finish him off, todomeda!"

Robert fell on his back but he wasn't hurt. Nolan walked to him and helped him up, then both shook hands.

"Good job, Nolan, your deck is totally awesome!" Robert said.

"Haha, thanks, now I am ready to go after Tigra!" Nolan replied and clenched his fist.

"Anyway, is there any other mission you want to give me now?"

"No, not yet. For the time being you can sit here in the UFO and relax."

"Alright!"

Meanwhile in Tibet Kaizer's UFO landed in the middle of a snowstorm in front of an ancient temple made of rock. Its front door opened and revealed Kaizer and Leona sitting there and staring at the majestic building.

"Until I come back you are in charge, Leona." Kaizer said and then he made a yellow sphere appear in his hand which he gave to the girl. "Take these, you will need them."

"But what are you giving me, master?" the girl asked and then the sphere turned into a few cards that landed into her hands. "What are these?"

"These are Unknown cards that I think that would make your deck stronger. Use them wisely."

"I will, Kaizer-sama!"

"Be back here in two days' time. Until then make sure that you stay out of trouble!"

And with those last words Kaizer bid his farewells to Leona and walked out of the spaceship. He went through the hard snowstorm as if it was nothing and finally he reached the entrance to the temple. Inside he saw a few bald monks in orange robes sitting in a circle and meditating. They all felt his presence due to the demonic evil inside him.

"You may come in, stranger." one of the monks invited Kaizer in.

"How did you know that I was here when all your eyes are closed?" Kaizer asked while stepping inside.

"Your aura of darkness is strong, otherworldly creature." another monk added. "But in the same time we feel that there is great confusion in your heart, so if you need help with something, we are here for you."

"Thank you." Kaizer said and then he sat on the floor and crossed his feet, joining the others in meditation.

Later that day, Tsugumi woke up at the hospital room. Subaru and Luna were sitting right next to her bed looking a little worried. Once he saw the blonde girl open her eyes, Subaru sighed in relief.

"What… what happened?" Tsugumi asked.

"Darling, you're awake!" Subaru exclaimed. "You got us worried so much!"

"Kaizer and Leona damaged you and Tiger pretty hard. You both are now stabilized." Luna explained.

"Thank goodness." the blonde girl said and put her head back on the pillow. "Subaru, listen, there's something I need to tell you."

"And what might that be, sweetie?" Subaru asked curiously and approached his head.

"I want… to go on vacation!"

"WHAT?" both Subaru and Luna shouted.


	17. Kaizer's past

The red points that symbolized Kaizer's eyes disappeared from the black holes in his helmet, meaning that he had closed his eyes. He began to relax all the points from his body until he fell into a trance. He could hear a monk's calm soothing old voice who was telling him that his body was getting heavier and heavier and that he was in complete connection with it.

"Where did I come from? Who am I?" Kaizer asked himself those questions in his mind.

The image of him talking to Leona appeared in his mind. Then came his meeting with Robert and the triumph over the chosen duelists and afterwards he also saw Atsuto being corrupted by himself at the volcano. His memories kept reverting from the point where he recruited his minions until the moment where he first opened his eyes.

Meanwhile at the UFO Subaru was crying loudly:

"NO, PLEASE DON'T GO, I NEED YOU!"

Tsugumi tried to shake her left foot so that Subaru would let go of it but it didn't work at all. The blonde girl slowly walked to Luna who was holding two big luggage cases.

"Subaru, please let go, we can't miss our train!" Tsugumi tried to reason with him.

"Why can't I come? I also want to go to the hot springs!" Subaru countered.

"It's a trip for us girls, so no boys are allowed. I'm sorry, but that's the situation."

"For girls? Well then it's no problem for me then."

Subaru shook his head and made his rather long hair flow in the air. Tsugumi then pushed his head backwards and he let go of her foot.

"I'm sorry, but the answer is still no!" Tsugumi insisted. "Besides, someone has to take care of the UFO while I'm gone."

"Actually… in that regard you are so right." Subaru said after he thought of those who inhabited it. "I'm the only normal one around here, so…"

"So be a sweetie and take good care of the UFO while we are gone, ok?" Tsugumi said and kissed his cheek.

"Alright, you can count on me!" Subaru assured her.

"Awesome! Let's go now, Luna-chan!"

The two girls rushed out of the UFO and thus its doors closed leaving Subaru all alone on the corridor. When the black haired chosen duelist got up on his feet he felt a hand slap his back in a friendly way.

"The girls are gone and you know what that means?" a familiar voice spoke to his ear.

"Blane, how did you get in here?" Subaru turned surprised to the brown haired teen.

"I have my ways. Anyway, with Tsugumi and Luna gone, do you know what that means?" Blane asked once again with a big smile on his face.

"That the UFO is all ours?" Subaru asked and sweated.

"AND THAT IT'S PARTY TIME, SUBARU!"

"…I don't like the sound of this."

Everything was black in Kaizer's mind. It seemed that he was back to nothingness, back to zero, back to nonexistence. It felt like the deepest sleep he had ever had. Then all of a sudden he heard a voice and then a light began to make its way into his eyes. In a few moments he could finally see that the light was coming from a blue horizon and it was in its center as a bright golden circle. That was what was known as the sky and the sun. Kaizer lifted his head and looked around. He was sitting on a field filled with yellow dust and at a short distance from him there was another field made of dark blue liquid out of which waves were rising and then disappearing once they were approaching him. Those were the beach and the sea.

Kaizer's first instinct was to get up on his feet and walk to the water. There in its reflection he saw his spiky armor and his horned dragon skull helmet in which his red eyes were shining. For a moment he was scared and wanted to run away but he soon realized that that image was him. He lifted his left hand up, then his right hand and stared at their reflection in the sea. Afterwards he looked at them and moved his fingers around. Everything seemed so amazing to him back then. He was alive; he was a living being, he could move, and all after sitting into nothingness for such a long time.

Then a deep low toned voice spoke into his head:

"Welcome to this world, my dear creation!"

"What? Who are you? Where are you?" Kaizer asked and then he got up and looked around with the same small fear from before.

"I am the one who brought you to life. I am the one who holds the answer to the purpose of your very existence." the voice continued.

"Then tell me… what is my purpose on this world? I need to know why you created me!"

"These answers you shall find once you get to the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta."

"The temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta?"

"Yes, find the temple; find the creature that bears this name, and then the answers to your questions will appear."

"Alright, master…"

"From this day on you shall be known as Kaizer, the armored duelist that brings chaos and destruction wherever he goes. Now go my creation, go and find the temple!"

And thus Kaizer turned around from the sunny beach and headed to the nearest city, his quest beginning from that point.

Back at the UFO, Subaru and Blane had told the other inhabitants about the party they were planning and now the duo was walking on the corridor planning everything out. Subaru was holding a list and writing on it while Blane was doing the speaking:

"So Subaru do we have the drinks?"

"Check."

"And what about the appetizers?"

"Check."

"The sweets?"

"Check."

"The balloons?"

"Check."

"The glitter?"

"Check."

"The music?"

"Check."

"The fireworks?"

"Wait a minute Blane, why the heck do we need fireworks?"

"They're fun, dude! So do you have them or not?"

"Sorry, but no."

"Oh well, I'll find some later. Let's see what else, Subaru. Cards?"

"Check."

"Seats?"

"Check."

"Porn?"

"What? Blane are you frigging serious?"

"Nah was just screwing with you. Anyway, is there anything else we need?"

"A brain for you?"

"Haha, very funny, Subaru." Blane laughed unimpressed.

"I'm always here to cheer up the mood." Subaru replied.

Back at Kaizer he was now going through a black tunnel in his mind searching for the nearest light he could find. That light would lead to more memories from his past. For a few moments it was all dark but then he heard the voice of a young little girl and a light suddenly appeared at the end of the tunnel. Kaizer rushed to it and got engulfed in it.

When the light faded away, he saw how a little girl was bringing a plate filled with muffins to him. Kaizer looked confused at the small girl who didn't seem to be the least scared of him and his menacing appearance. Then he took a muffin and put it under his helmet only to have it land inside his armor.

"Hihi, you are funny, mister." the little girl laughed.

"What are you, small creature?" Kaizer curiously asked.

"I am a little girl."

"A little girl? Is this what beings like you are called?"

"Of course not, silly, I am a human."

"Human… So the inhabitants of this place are known as humans."

"You surely aren't from town I see." the little girl laughed and handed the plate to Kaizer once again. "Here, have another one."

"Alright, if you insist." Kaizer replied and shyly took another muffin. "So what does one say in a situation like this?"

"Oh, you say 'thank you'."

"Uh, thank you?"

The little girl blushed and laughed happily to him. Kaizer simply put the other muffin under his helmet and it joined the other inside his armor.

"Would you also like a glass of milk with those muffins?" the girl asked and handed Kaizer a glass of milk.

"Hm… no, I don't think that my body can endure it." Kaizer said while examining the white liquid inside the glass. "I guess I have to say 'no thank you'?"

"You surely are one weird guy."

Meanwhile at the UFO Subaru and Blane had just finished checking the list and were about to go and prepare the party when they heard a knock at the UFO's door. Blane rushed and before Subaru could realize what was going on the whole spaceship got filled with many random people that were all cheering for the party.

"BLAAAAAAANE!" Subaru yelled like mad.

"Is there something the matter, Subaru?" Blane asked while trying to organize the crowd.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS IN YOUR MIND?"

"What? Parties are always awesome with lots of people!"

Subaru looked around all desperate and all that he saw were lots and lots of people. But what was weirder was that between them he also saw Chuck Norris, Jesus Christ, Barack Obama, Vlad the Impaler, Napoleon Bonaparte, William Shakespeare and Julius Caesar.

"How in rational cognition's name is this even possible?" Subaru asked himself and put his hands in his hair. "I must be going mad!"

"Did you say something, Subaru? I can't hear ya that good." Blane said.

"I need a pill. No, I need a doctor!"

Hours passed by and Kaizer got more and more flashbacks in his mind. He saw his first contacts with the humans, how most ran away from him because of his threatening appearance, how he was ostracized for being different, how he saw that other humans were also suffering like him because of different reasons such as race, nationality, religious beliefs, mental diseases or body problems. He saw the suffering in their eyes and was wondering why were they in those situations. That was how he learned about how cruel certain humans were and about how compassion makes others feel better. He also learned manners from the little girl who gave him muffins and from the good people that were able to see past his looks and actually be nice to him. The more he learned about humans, the more fascinated he was and the more he wanted to become one.

Sadly he remembered his creator's words and he kept wandering from town to town trying to find some information regarding Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple. The closest hint he found was that the five chosen duelists had once defeated that monster before. Thus he decided to find the city where they were living and on the day he arrived in it he met up with Shubham and recruited his first minion.

"This… was my life so far." Kaizer spoke in his mind. "I have lived with the humans and seen all their characteristics. And what's weirder is that I could destroy them in just a second… but some still did not fear me. But with or without the humans, I have to get to Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple, I have to find out what my true purpose is!"

All of a sudden, Kaizer opened his red eyes and got up from the floor. He looked at the exit door of the temple and saw that the snowstorm had ceased and that it was morning. Without saying a word he began to walk to it.

"Already leaving us?" one of the monks asked.

"You've got what you came here for?" another added.

"Yes I have, and for this I have to thank you." Kaizer said while still walking.

"But what were you so desperate to get?" a third monk asked.

"Peace… and one day I will get it!" Kaizer replied and then he disappeared out of the temple.

Back at the UFO, Subaru simply went nuts and because he couldn't stand big crowds he began to kick every stranger that Blane brought out by force. After fifteen minutes of him insanely fighting everyone else, it was only Subaru and Blane once again on the corridor. The angered chosen darkness duelist slammed the door of the UFO and then he yelled at it with all his strength:

"AND STAY OUT!"

"Dude, that was very rude!" Blane complained.

"No Blane, bringing out a horde of crazies without asking for permission was rude!" Subaru countered. "Never do that again OR ELSE!"

"Fine, fine, I guess we can all party by ourselves?"

"Now we're talking."

With that being settled, both teens headed to the living room and began to prepare for the great party that would blow the whole UFO upside down.

Meanwhile at the train station, Tsugumi and Luna had finally hopped in their train and were waiting for it to start going to the hot spring resort. After the two girls found some seats to take, Tsugumi sighed with relief and stretched her hands while saying:

"At last, Luna-chan, we can finally relax!"

"But Tsugumi-chan, aren't you worried about leaving the boys all by themselves at the UFO?" Luna asked.

"Nah, don't worry, I'm sure that Subaru is going to handle the situation and keep everything in order until we come back. But for now… let's enjoy the trip!"


	18. The party

Somewhere far in the mountains where signs of man's hand could rarely be found, deep in the thick forests there was a hotel. That hotel was well-known for its outdoor hot spring baths and over the years people had managed to build a railway and a rail station that could bring more access to it. However, due to the long distance from villages and other forms of civilization, not many dared to adventure themselves that much.

As the sun began to set in the far west, a UFO appeared in the crimson sky and slowly landed in the forest. Out of it came Leona who was dressed in a golden yellow kimono. The blonde girl walked out of the spaceship and took a deep breath of the mountain's fresh air. She then stretched her hands and meowed like a lazy cat while saying:

"Ah, this is the life!"

"Leona, wait for me, la!" a familiar annoying voice disturbed her silence.

Leona turned to the UFO and saw Alwyn running out of the spaceship holding two luggage bags, both belonging to Leona.

"Come quicker, Alwyn, we've got some hot spring baths to enjoy." Leona said and headed towards the hotel.

"I'm coming, ah!" Alwyn replied and rushed after her.

Just as they disappeared between the thick trees, the UFO closed its doors and took off once again.

Meanwhile at the chosen duelist UFO, as Subaru and Blane had announced, a party was about to begin. In the living room there was a large table filled with soft drinks, beer, and various appetizers such as cheese and ham and sweets like candy and chocolate. The room was also filled with balloons and glitter, and ambient music was being played from a computer.

"Alright Subaru, everything seems to be ready." Blane commented.

"I think you might be right." Subaru replied and then he turned to the door. "Well then, shall we call the others here to have some fun?"

"Sure, be my guest."

But just as Subaru opened the door, he saw the imposing silhouette of Tiger who was standing there and was staring unimpressed at the decorated room.

"Tiger, what are you doing here? Are you spying on us?" Subaru asked and sweated a bit.

"If sunglasses guy can stalk us how much he wants, I think it's only fair if I also spied on him a bit." Tiger countered. "Anyway, what's with this party thing that you're planning? We're on a mission, Subaru; we don't have time for fun!"

"Actually, Tiger, I think that everyone has the right to a little RxR!" Blane intervened and walked between Subaru and Tiger, staring fiercely at the tall blonde chosen duelist though his sunglasses. "If you're too 'busy' preparing the next move to attack Kaizer and do not wish to lighten up even for a bit, then fine, don't come to the party. But don't spoil the fun for the others, got it?"

Tiger returned Blane's stare to the brown haired teen but in the end he decided that the two were not worth his time. The chosen nature duelist simply chuckled a little and then he turned around and disappeared in the corridor.

"Party pooper." Blane silently commented.

"Anyway, shall we bring the others?" Subaru suggested.

"Alright then!"

In just five minutes the living room was inhabited by wild party animals. Those were Robert, Nolan, Tamma, Subaru and Blane and it seemed like they were having the fun of their life.

Robert was teaching Nolan and Tamma how to dance disco moves while the two were throwing glitter at the dance ring to make atmosphere due to the lack of a disco ball. Subaru and Blane were watching them and both were drinking cans of beer.

"Look at him dance." Subaru remarked.

"Yeah, that Robert guy truly is a dancing machine." Blane added and took another drink. "Say, what was with this guy again?"

"Oh, Robert? He's a good friend of mine. It's a long story, really."

"I understand… Anyway, you wanna join them and show him who the real dancer is?"

"…I'd rather not."

"Suit yourself, Subaru."

Blane threw the empty beer can on the table and then he walked to the dancing ring and pushed Robert a little aside to show him his own disco moves. However, the tall spiky haired duelist did not back down one bit. He quickly rejoined the dancing ring and competed with Blane at the dancing moves.

While Tamma and Nolan were impressed of what those two were doing, Subaru simply took a seat at the table and stared at them with a rather bored look in his eyes, his mind being elsewhere.

"Tsugumi, what could you be doing right now?" Subaru asked.

As the last rays of the sun were disappearing under the might of the mountain, a train arrived at the station that was close to the hot spring hotel in the middle of the forest. Tsugumi and Luna came out of it along with four more passengers that were left. That station was the last point that the train had to reach. Afterwards it was dead end and it had to go back.

As the two chosen duelists were approaching the hotel, Luna walked closer to Tsugumi while trembling and whispered to her ear:

"Tsugumi-chan, are you sure that there are no dangers here? I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere and…"

"Don't worry, Luna-chan, inside the hotel we should be perfectly fine. And besides, tomorrow morning we will be enjoying some relaxing hot springs!"

"I certainly hope so, Tsugumi-chan…"

After four more hours passed at the UFO, the party was slowly beginning to break. Robert was tired from all the dancing and was resting on a seat, Nolan was eating the food from the table, Tamma had left the room to bring Subaru chocolate syrup at his request, Blane was finishing his tenth beer can and Subaru was still daydreaming.

All of a sudden, the silence that was between them had been broken by Blane, and it was very clear from his voice that he was not sober anymore.

"Hey Subaru, come tell us a good story!" Blane demanded.

"What? Who?" Subaru said as he woke up from his daydreaming and realized the situation he was in. "Oh come on, dude, you have better stories to tell than me!"

"Oh, but I insist!" Blane continued and then he got up from his seat and approached Subaru. "Or else I'm telling Robert to put some rap music on the computer."

"Oh God, anything BUT that!" Subaru complained. "But seriously, I'm so tired right now that I don't have any idea of what story to tell you guys. I'm really sorry that I cannot entertain you tonight, but…"

"Ah, no worries dude, chillax. Here, have a banana!"

Before Subaru could react, Blane took a banana from the table and stuck it in the black haired chosen duelist's mouth.

"Now you're all banana boy, hahaha!" Blane laughed hard and Subaru sweated while putting an unimpressed look on his face. "Get it, banana?"

"Blane's drunk right now?" Robert asked Nolan.

"I'm afraid he is." Nolan responded and sighed.

All of a sudden, Tamma burst in the room with a bottle filled with chocolate syrup.

"I did it, Subaru! I brought the syrup like you wanted me to!" Tamma exclaimed and rushed to the table.

"Alright, we can finally begin the punishment game!" Subaru said anxiously.

But just as he was approaching the table, Tamma tripped and dropped the bottle in the air which landed right on Subaru's head, spreading the chocolate syrup all over his body. Upon seeing that, Blane began to laugh harder than ever before, but the sober Robert and Nolan could barely control themselves from doing the same.

"I'm so sorry, bro!" Tamma apologized and bowed down to Subaru.

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing." Subaru replied and took a napkin. "I guess I'll have to clean this…"

"Hey Subaru, you have a banana… and chocolate all over you." Blane said while putting his finger on the chosen duelist's chest. "Why don't you make us a fagshake? Get it? FAG-shake? Hahaha!"

"Excuse me, Blane, but I think you should probably go to sleep…" Subaru tried to speak.

"Dude, you forgot THE BANANA!"

In the next moment Blane shoved a banana right into Subaru's posterior and the black haired teen yelled really loud and jumped off his seat.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT, YOU RETARD?" Subaru yelled.

"You should've seen your face!" Blane kept laughing.

"Blane, why are you giving me those frigging bananas?"

"What's the problem, Subaru? You're a yaoi star, you should like them."

"Gosh, what am I going to do with you?" Subaru sighed in annoyance.

"So… anyone still up for the punishment game?" Nolan suggested.

"I'm in!" Robert said.

The punishment game was rather simple. All participants drew out straws and the one with the smallest lost and had to get a punishment from the one with the longest. If two or more had the same smallest or longest straws, then both would suffer the punishment or think up of one.

Luckily for Subaru, Blane was the one who lost the game and the chosen darkness duelist was the one with the longest straw. As punishment for everything that the drunken Blane did to him that night, Subaru made him dance naked on the ring with bananas in his ears saying that he was a pretty lady… and he actually did it towards the amusement of the others.

And so another hour passed and most of them got tired. Nolan helped the drunken Blane go to his room while Tamma went to bed as well since it was late for him. However, Subaru and Robert remained in the living room.

"You said you had something to tell me, Robert?" Subaru asked.

"Yes, this!" Robert replied with a smile and showed his glowing deck. "I've just finished updating this baby and was wondering if you had the time to duel."

"A match? Sure, but not a kaijudo one."

"Fine by me."

Both duelists cleaned the table and put the dirty dishes into a box so that they would clean them later. Once there was nothing left on the table, both put their decks on them, set their shields and drew five cards.

"Duel start!" both Subaru and Robert shouted.

Both did their first turns by charging mana and ending. But on their second turns…

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Robert said and then he discarded Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon from Subaru's hand.

"Let me return you the favor, I also summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Subaru said and discarded Patrial Flame from Robert's hand. "Oh? Using cross gears? That's something new."

"The surprises have just begun, Subaru. I summon Berlin, Grave Bell Keeper! Heh, you may discard from my hand how much you want now, Subaru, because Berlin's effect will let me return two cards from the graveyard to my hand for each card you discard."

"Seems like I have to change my plans a bit… I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

Subaru put the top two cards of his deck – Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger and Vorg, Brawler of Hell – to his graveyard and then he also put his Bone Dance Charger card into his mana zone.

"My turn, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and end." Robert said.

"Then it's time to show you the power of my Hunters, old friend!" Subaru replied with a smile and tapped five mana and afterwards he showed a card from his hand. "I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A blue bipedal demonic lion with orange horns and four hands each wielding a sharp blue sword appeared behind Subaru as a hologram.

"Long time no see, Raion." Subaru said and smiled to his creature.

"Indeed, Subaru-sama." Raion replied and winked. "Now if you excuse me…"

All of a sudden, Bloody Shadow and Berlin appeared behind Robert as holograms and in the next moment Liger Blade slashed them both with its swords, making them disappear.

"I see you like ligers, eh Subaru? Let's see what do you think of mine – I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast." Robert said and placed the card on his table.

"Nice looking fellow you got there." Subaru complimented and then he drew his next card, then he placed Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord in his mana zone and stared at the only card he had left. "Raion…"

"Yes, master?" Liger Blade curiously asked.

"I'm afraid you have to go for now."

"No worries, I'll be back. You won't get rid of this cat that easily!"

"Got it!" Subaru smiled to his deck avatar and then he turned his face to Robert once again and showed the last card from his hand. "I cast Dark Soul Creation and destroy Liger Blade to draw three cards!"

Raion closed its eyes and disappeared in a holographic explosion. Afterwards Subaru took three cards from the top of his deck into his hand.

"You sacrificed your own deck avatar to draw cards. Nice move, but let's see if luck helps me as well." Robert replied and showed a blue card. "I cast Hogan Blaster!"

The tall rich boy shuffled his deck and then revealed the top card which was… Cyber N World, a new card in his deck which surprised Subaru.

"Huh? What is that?" Subaru asked.

"This is Cyber N World and when it is put in the battle zone we both shuffle the cards in our graveyard and hand back into the deck and afterwards we both draw five cards." Robert explained.

"Sounds pretty neat."

Both duelists did what the effect of Cyber N World had them do. Once both had five cards in their hands again, Robert showed another card from his hand that he put in the battle zone while saying:

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"Now it's my turn, I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell and Kitarou, the Cursed Corpse!" Subaru said and put both cards into his battle zone and afterwards Robert revealed Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Primal Scream. "I discard Jenny and end my turn."

"It's time to finish this!" Robert declared as he put a rainbow card upon his Bloody Shadow card. "I evolve Bloody Shadow into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia! Let's see you try to cast Miracle Re Borns now without cards in your graveyard and a Queen Alcadeias to forbid you from using them."

"Heh, you locked me."

"Pretty much. Anyway, Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields!"

A semicircular beam came out of Robert's card and went to Subaru's side of the table, pushing two cards from his shield zone to his hand. Sadly for the chosen darkness duelist, both cards were two Terror Pits that Queen Alcadeias did not allow him to cast.

"Cyber N World, take down two more of his shields! Ashliger, break his final shield!" Robert continued and another beam appeared that gave Subaru two more cards in his hand. "I end for now."

"Oh great, with that Queen Alcadeias in the battle zone I'm in deep trouble. Only a miracle can save me now…" Subaru thought while drawing his next card. "Tsh, it's good, but not enough…"

"Is something the matter? It's your turn."

"Alright, I cast Super Infernal Gate Smash and destroy Queen Alcadeias!" Subaru said and Robert watched shocked how both his Queen Alcadeias and Bloody Shadow cards bounced off his table into his graveyard. "Then I summon Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon. Kitarou, break his shield! Vorg, break his shield! And now… I end."

That was all that Subaru could do. He was shield less and he couldn't destroy Robert's Cyber N World and Ashliger, so that meant that he had lost the game.

As they were packing up their decks, Subaru gave Robert a friendly smile and said:

"Good game, dude, you've improved since last time!"

"Thanks, I figured I needed an upgrade when I saw that Nolan did one to his deck. After all, if we want to help you guys out, we need to become stronger as well." Robert replied and returned Subaru the friendly smile.

"Alright, now let's figure a way to clean up this living room." Subaru said and sweated after he saw in what a mess the whole room was due to the party.

"This will be one long night." Robert sighed.


	19. The trip to the hot springs

In a room with metallic walls, two beds in its right, a TV in its left and a balcony with a glass door, a door opened. Two girls entered it, each carrying a bag of luggage. One of them was blonde, the other was blue haired and both had blue eyes, the blue haired one wearing glasses. Suddenly the blonde one let her luggage drop on the floor and stretched her arms while exclaiming with happiness:

"We're finally here, Luna-chan!"

"It is indeed a nice place." the blue haired girl replied and analyzed the room. "Fascinating construction indeed."

"So shall we head for some baths?" the blonde suggested.

"As you wish, Tsugumi-chan, but I'd like to set up our stuff first."

And so the duo began unpacking their luggage and making their room look like home. But little did the two chosen duelist girls know that in the outdoor hot spring pool Leona was watching them through the window while the moon was rising behind her. The blonde lioness had her mane all soaked wet and there was a slick grin on her face.

"This couldn't get better even if I asked for it." Leona murmured.

After installing themselves in their room, the two girls dressed up in bathrobes, took two towels with them and headed to the baths. Since the hotel was rather old, it didn't have the indoor hot spring pools and all their spa facilities such as Jacuzzi, hydro massage, water slides and others, it was basically an outdoor hot spring bath that was obviously separated by a wall so that men and women would bathe separately. There was not even a mixed baths section.

Before entering the baths, one had to first enter the men's or women's showers and cleanse themselves. Thus we find Tsugumi and Luna sitting alone in separate shower cabins discussing.

"So Luna-san, since when did you pick up dueling? A girl like you seems more oriented towards science and hard study." Tsugumi said while rubbing her body with shower gel.

"It's true that I enjoy studying a lot, but I also love dueling as well." Luna replied while letting the hot water of the shower wash off the soap bubbles from her body. "Ever since I was a little girl, I had a huge curiosity and I wished to discover more and more about the world surrounding me. When I first heard about the trading card game Duel Masters, I was seven and I didn't give much importance and viewed it as 'another boys' card game'. However, that perspective changed in the moment when I discovered that my parents owned cards for a long time and were masters at the game as well."

"Wow, your parents were also duelists?"

"Yes, kaijudo duelists to be more exact. I once saw them duel and summon creatures to this world and this made me get into the game. I wanted to find out more about the play, the cards, the creatures, their world, their history, everything. Ten years later I became an expert in the Water civilization and I went to Hakuoh-sama's school to train and become a better duelist. My ultimate goal is to create the 'perfect deck'."

"Luna-san, you should know that there is no such thing as a 'perfect deck'. In this game anyone can lose. Even I, Subaru and our old friends Edo, Sora and Rad had our fair share of losses as well."

"I know that even the strongest can lose, Tsugumi-chan, but I still desire to build a deck that will have many wins and really few losses. If I could accomplish that, I'll be truly happy."

"I see…" Tsugumi replied and stopped the water from her shower. "I am done. See you in the baths."

"Wait for me!" Luna exclaimed and stopped her shower as well.

Outside the hotel, Leona had just got out of the pool and was putting on her golden bath robe that had the head of a lion on its right side. While dressing up, the girl shouted to the men's side of the pool:

"Alwyn, I'm going back to the room!"

"Why so, la? These hot springs are like heaven, ah!" Alwyn shouted back.

"Let's just say that I've got some business to take care of." Leona said with her sly voice.

"Whatever floats your boat…"

When Leona saw the two feminine figures approach the door, she sneaked into the mens' showers to not be seen by them. Luckily for her there were no guys in there so she could easily reach the hotel's corridors and head back to her room.

Meanwhile at the outdoor bath, Tsugumi and Luna had taken off their towels and were both enjoying the warmth of the mountain hot springs. While Luna seemed to be a little more reserved regarding the bath, Tsugumi was savoring every bit of it as she showed signs of tiredness, and that water was what she needed for rest.

"You must be really exhausted, huh Tsugumi-chan?" Luna brought up.

"Can you blame me, Luna? I've been through so many over the last months and I barely got any moments of relaxation." Tsugumi replied and then she began reflecting upon the past months. "The last time I had a real vacation was during August right after the Zeta Wars. Then in September the Duel Masters tournament began and we all had to train hard to win it and make sure that the Proof didn't fall into the wrong hands. Sadly, Rezo the Red Priest won the tournament and then he used the Proof's power to summon creatures into our world and begin a huge rampage. In order to stop him we had to ally with an old foe of ours, the notorious witch Tabitha Lenox, and it was a long and hard battle, but we won. However, it wasn't the end. With Rezo dead, Tabitha betrayed us and took us to a place where the one who lost a duel would die. That was where… my friends were killed."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry; it's not your fault, Luna-san. Anyway, we managed to defeat Tabitha and put an end to her once and for all, but… with the price of my friends' lives. Rad the ex-chosen fire duelist, Sora the ex-chosen nature duelist and Kokujo Kyoshiro the Black Death had died during this battle. Edo the ex-chosen water duelist was also severely injured."

"How awful!"

"And now you came with Tamma and Tiger and I have to work so hard to keep this team together while concentrating our new mission of stopping Kaizer. Believe me, it's just too much for me to handle."

"I understand, Tsugumi-chan. But don't worry, these hot spring baths should help you get over all that stress."

"They sure will, Luna-san, they sure will."

"Oh, and regarding Edo, is there any way to heal him?"

"I'm afraid not, Luna-chan. The doctors tried everything they could but it seems that 90% of his body is paralyzed and he now lies in coma. Those machines that are connected to him are the only things keeping him alive. I feel terribly sorry for my dear friend, but I also feel even sorrier for Subaru. He has to see his best friend lying on that bed every day, and even though he doesn't show it, he is suffering deeply inside."

"Speaking of which, when I asked Subaru if I could try and find a way to cure Edo he agreed, much towards my surprise."

"Huh? But why would you try to heal Edo, Luna-chan?"

"Why not? It saddens me to see him lying there and you guys suffer so much because of it. I may not be a doctor, but I do have enough information resources to try and find something for him. Don't worry, Tsugumi-chan, for I won't give up until I see you guys having fun with Edo-san once again!"

"That's really nice of you Luna, but don't you worry that if Edo comes back he might replace you?"

"I don't care, Tsugumi-chan. He was the chosen water duelist before me, he deserves his place, I am merely a replacement. And besides, it would make me happier to see him enjoying life once again with you guys."

"You're so sweet, Luna-san. I'm lost for words…" Tsugumi said with a friendly smile on her face.

"Oh, don't worry, Tsugumi-chan, it's the least I can do for having you and Subaru being so nice to me." Luna replied with the same friendly smile and blushed.

During that time most of the inhabitants of the hotel were asleep. However at the second floor a man in his thirties who was really drunk was slowly walking on the corridor looking for his room. His hair was messy, his bath robe was sweaty and he looked like he was about to collapse on the floor.

"Hey pretty guy, are you lonely?" a teenage girl's voice resounded in the corridor.

"Huh? What? Where?" the wasted guy burst and looked around to find nobody. "I must be hearing things."

The man resumed his drunken walk but then he started hearing footsteps from behind. He turned around and once again didn't find anyone. Thinking that his mind was playing tricks with him, he kept walking until he saw a figure appear at the end of the corridor. It was that of a blonde girl with her hair arranged like a lion mane with a lion head hairpin in it, dressed in a golden bathrobe with a lion head on it and wearing wooden sandals. The girl stared at him with her fierce blue eyes and revealed her naked left foot.

"Say darling, do you want me to be your queen tonight?" she asked with a seductive voice.

"Wow, what's cute appeals even to me!" the man exclaimed with an excited voice and rushed to her only to have her index finger touch his chest and stop him.

"Not here, tiger. How about we retreat somewhere where it's more dark and lonely?" the girl suggested.

"Alright babe, let's go find my room!" the man replied and took out a pair of keys from his robe's pocket. "Follow me."

As the man resumed his drunken walk the blonde girl looked at him with a malicious grin on her face that revealed her sharp feline-like teeth.

After an hour of baths, Tsugumi and Luna finally decided that it was time for them to return to their room. They put their towels on, went to the girls' locker room to change into their bathrobes and then they silently walked back into their room.

There Tsugumi was drying her hair while admiring the starlit sky and the silvery moon, whereas Luna was surfing the internet on her laptop. All of a sudden, Luna broke the silence between them by saying:

"Tsugumi-chan, did you know that there was a site on the internet that has a database with all the strong duelists around the world?"

"No, I didn't know that, Luna-chan. Since when was it made?" Tsugumi curiously asked and then she got up from her spot and joined Luna in staring at the laptop's screen.

"The site appeared at the beginning of this year and its database of duelists is expanding day by day." Luna said and then she moved the mouse and clicked on a button that opened a page which contained a huge table with names, card images and numbers.

"Wow, what is that?"

"This, Tsugumi-chan, is a table that contains information regarding all the known strong duelists so far, including official wins and losses. You, Subaru and the ex-chosen duelists are somewhere between the top 100 and I also know that Kokujo Kyoshiro and Hakuoh-sama are also in the top. However, I don't seem to recognize other names."

"Let's see…" Tsugumi said while reading the names. "Shobu Kirifuda, Katsuta Kirifuda, Mimi Tasogare, George Kamamoto, Hakuoh, Kokujo Kyoshiro, Benny Haha… Wait a minute, Benny Haha? Seriously? Since when did that loser become a champion?"

"Do you happen to know this 'Benny Haha'?" Luna asked.

"He was Mimi's brother… and to put it simple he was a total dork. I don't understand what huge accomplishments he had."

After a few more minutes of browsing that table, Tsugumi got bored and then she got up from Luna's bed and took out her deck.

"Say, Luna-chan, do you want to duel?" Tsugumi suggested.

"Sure, I won't mind testing out my deck once again!" Luna happily replied and then she rushed to her luggage and took her deck out.

The two girls sat on the floor and set their shields there. Then they each drew five cards and thus their match began. Tsugumi began by placing Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory in her mana zone. Then Luna placed Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows in her mana zone. Afterwards Tsugumi put Iron Arm Tribe in her mana zone, tapped two mana cards and showed another nature card from her hand while saying:

"I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to my mana zone."

The card that went to Tsugumi's mana zone was DNA Spark. Then Luna's turn came and she placed Aqua Surfer in her mana zone, tapped both mana cards and showed a rainbow card to Tsugumi while saying:

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow. With its effect I draw a card."

"I summon Silver Shovel and with its effect I send both our creatures to our mana zones." Tsugumi said and then she put her Silver Shovel card into her mana zone and also watched how Luna put her Hot Spring Crimson Meow to her mana zone.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards." Luna said and then she took two cards from her deck into her hand.

"You're not the only one who can draw a lot, Luna! I summon two Gaga Pikarians and draw two cards."

"I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy a Gaga Pikarian. Then I put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone! Come, Pinky!"

A red robot with three heads, fire arms, and water throwers appeared behind Luna as a hologram.

"If you bring out your hard weapons, I think I'll do the same." Tsugumi said and then she showed a light card to Luna. "I cast Heaven's Gate and put Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon and Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory into the battle zone!"

A robotic red creature with the body of a woman at its core wielding a golden sword appeared behind Tsugumi as a hologram as well.

"Luna and Pinky, meet Joan of Arc, my own deck avatar, also known as Tenshi." Tsugumi said smiling. "And with her effect I now tap Hot Spring Gallows."

"It doesn't really matter since I untap it at the start of my turn." Luna replied. "Anyway, my turn, I summon Emeral and replace a shield with a card from my hand. Then with Hot Spring Gallows' effect I put Emeral to the top of my deck and then back in the battle zone yet again, so I replace another shield with another card from my hand. Afterwards I summon Unicorn Fish and send Joan of Arc back to your hand!"

Luna's card glowed with a bright blue light and Tenshi's hologram disappeared, Tsugumi taking the card back into her hand.

"Then with Hot Spring Gallows' effect I put Unicorn Fish on the top of my deck and then put it once again in the battle zone. Now send Perfect Madonna to your hand as well!"

"Think again, Luna-san! Perfect Madonna's effect allows it to stay in the battle zone as long as its power isn't under 0." Tsugumi said with a sly smile on her face.

"Nice counter, Tsugumi-chan, I'm impressed. Anyway, I end here." Luna replied.

"Very well, I charge mana and summon Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory! With its effect I tap Emeral and Unicorn Fish. Perfect Madonna, take down Emeral! Gaga Pikarian, destroy Unicorn Fish!"

"Good comeback, but I guess that it's time to do a little damage. I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card. Then with Hot Spring Gallows' effect I put it to the top of my deck and then back into the battle zone and draw yet another card. And now I evolve Hot Spring Crimson Meow into Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Super Electromagnetic! Now I attack with Cosmo Cebu Lambda and use its meteorburn to send Hot Spring Crimson Meow to the graveyard and draw three cards. Now double break her shields, Cosmo Cebu Lambda."

Towards Luna's surprise, Tsugumi didn't block with Joan of Arc and took two cards from her shield zone to her hand.

"I end." Luna announced.

"Thanks for the cards, Luna-chan." Tsugumi said after she saw what she drew and showed the card to her opponent as well. "I cast Heaven's Gate and put Gaga Crouton, the Prophet and HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga into the battle zone!"

"Nice field you built there, Tsugumi-chan, but I think it's time I cleaned it. I put Doskoi Firststar under Cosmo Cebu Lamda. Then I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and send Joan of Arc back to your hand. Afterwards I put another Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone. Ike, Cosmo Cebu Lamda, attack and I use its meteorburn to draw three cards yet again. Double break her shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all your creatures!" Tsugumi said and watched how Luna tapped both her Hot Spring Gallows creatures. "Also, I put the top card of my deck to my shields."

"Alright, then I end." Luna declared.

"My turn, I evolve Gaga Crouton into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits!"

A golden armored angel with black wings and a black head that had a shining red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind Tsugumi as a hologram.

"Go, Gaga Alcadeias, destroy Cosmo Cebu Lambda! Then HEIKE Double Cross, destroy Hot Spring Gallows!" Tsugumi ordered.

"This isn't over yet!" Luna said and showed a fire spell. "I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Gaga Pikarian and Perfect Madonna!"

"Perfect Madonna stays since her power wasn't reduced to 0."

"Then I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser and end."

"I'm sorry, Luna-chan, but it's pretty much over. I summon Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory and tap Hot Spring Gallows and Gil Poser. Gaga Alcadeias, destroy Hot Spring Gallows! HEIKE Double Cross, destroy Gil Poser!"

"Alright, let's not panic, you can still do this." Luna said as she drew her next card. "I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows and end."

"Then it's time to finish this match." Tsugumi declared. "I summon Iron Arm Tribe and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone. Afterwards I evolve Iron Arm Tribe into Great Hercules, Giant Insect! Ike, Great Hercules, attack and put Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory into the battle zone from the mana zone!"

"Fantastic…"

"Great Hercules, double break her shields! Gaga Alcadeias, break her last three shields!"

With just two attacks, all of Luna's shields were gone. As the girl got the five cards into her hand, she quickly showed two to Tsugumi while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Joan of Arc back to your hand! Then I also summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!"

"Alright, then it's your turn, Luna-chan." Tsugumi passed.

"I summon Ribbity Frog and send your other Joan of Arc back to your hand as well! Hot Spring Gallows, break her last shields!"

"Block the attack, HEIKE Double Cross!"

"My second Hot Spring Gallows breaks your last shields!"

"And I block with Perfect Madonna!"

"Aqua Surfer, break her shield! Then… I end." Luna declared.

"Good game, Luna-san. Gaga Alcadeias, todomeda!" Tsugumi gave the finishing blow and thus won the match.

Luna fell on her back disappointed.

"Aw, I can't believe I lost the match. This was supposed to be the perfect deck!" Luna complained.

"Don't worry; Luna-chan, we all have our fair share of losses." Tsugumi replied with a friendly voice. "By the way, thanks for the nice match, I really enjoyed it!"

"I'm glad you did, Tsugumi-chan." the blue haired girl replied and blushed.

All of a sudden, they heard a knock at the door.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." Tsugumi said and then she got up from the floor and walked to the door.

When the blonde girl opened the door, her scream resounded in the entire room and made Luna jump up. In front of their opened door lied the bleeding dead body of a man.


	20. Hot Spring Duel! Tsugumi VS Leona!

Tsugumi and Luna stared stupefied at the dead body that was lying in a pool of blood right at the door of their room. After a few moments, Tsugumi managed to break the silence by asking:

"What kind of sick prank is this?"

"I-I don't know, Tsugumi-chan…" Luna replied and then she shyly approached the body and slowly reached her trembling hand to his neck, putting two fingers on it. "He has no pulse. He's dead."

"Oh God, what are we going to do?" the blonde girl panicked.

"Should we call the authorities and tell them what happened?"

"Oh sure, Luna-chan, and what if they think that we are the ones who did it?"

"Well there are cameras on the hallway, so there is a way to prove our innocence, Tsugumi-chan."

"I don't know, Luna, I really don't know…"

Tsugumi walked in circles, her face showing clear worry, trying to find out what to do with the body and how they would escape trouble. If they were to hide it in the woods, the cameras would show that they took part in the crime. If they were to announce the authorities, there was the risk of them being accused of taking part in the murder even if the cameras could've proved the opposite since they were out during the time of the murder.

"Tsugumi-chan!" Luna's voice interrupted Tsugumi from her thoughts.

"What is it, Luna-san?" the blonde asked.

"There is a note on this man's back. I think that someone wanted to leave us a message."

"And what does it say?"

Luna used her nails to take out the note that was stuck with glue on the man's bathrobe. The following words were written on it: 'If you want to find out who am I, come by the out door pool ALONE, or else more will die.'

"Tsugumi-chan…"

"What is it, Luna?"

"Whoever did what they did…. is waiting for us at the pool. This innocent man… was just a way for them to lure us into their trap!" Luna exclaimed and clenched her fists while letting her tears flow.

"Don't worry, we'll make them pay, I promise." Tsugumi assured her and then the blonde girl hugged the blue haired girl.

Meanwhile at the outdoor pool, Leona was relaxing in the hot spring once again while staring at the balcony of the two girls' room.

"Hehehe, everything is going exactly as I've planned. Not only are they in trouble with the body, but they'll also come here and duel me. This is going to be so fun! And besides, when is it a bad idea to kill somebody?" Leona thought.

Ten minutes later, the lights in the girls' room were shut, same was for the door. The duo walked out of the hotel and headed to the pool but as they approached it, the more steam was coming out from the hot springs that was almost as thick as a November fog. Luna was a bit scared, but Tsugumi showed no signs of fear. In the blonde girl's heart there was only the desire of making justice for the killed man.

All of a sudden, the two girls heard a laughter coming from the pool that brought chills down their spines. Even though the steam was rather thick, they could still distinguish a feminine figure coming out of the pool, quickly putting a bathrobe on and approaching them.

"Brace yourself, Luna." Tsugumi advised and the blue haired girl nodded.

As the fog began to slowly clear out, the figure came out of it and got face to face with the two girls, revealing that she was none other than Kaizer's right hand, Leona.

"Having fun at the hot springs, girls?" Leona mocked them.

"Don't give me that garbage!" Tsugumi fought back while Luna shyly hid behind the blonde girl. "Why the heck did you kill that poor man?"

"There had to be a way I could catch your attention, and just between us, he was drunk at the wrong place and at the wrong time."

"You monster… Just what do you want from us?"

"You two? There's not a lot you can give me, chosen duelists. Let's just say that I'm bored… and I seek some entertainment." Leona said while putting a grin on her face and taking out her deck.

"She did all this… out of sheer boredom?" Luna murmured with shock.

"Grr, if it's trouble you want, you've just got it, missy!" Tsugumi affirmed while showing her deck as well. "I'll wipe that stupid smile off your face!"

"Why Tsugumi, dear chosen light duelist, are you angry on me?" Leona faked an innocent voice and then she moved to her usual vile one. "Great, this way the match will be way more entertaining!"

Both Tsugumi's and Leona's decks shined powerfully as two rocky dueling tables came out of the ground. The two girls put their decks and set their cards on them, and then both drew five cards, set up five shields and shouted 'Duel start!', thus beginning the match.

While the two were drawing cards and charging mana on their first turns, Luna looked for something to sit on and found a rock. After the chosen water duelist made herself comfortable, she turned to the duel and analyzed the situation.

Leona had Hatchaki in her battle zone, Tsugumi had Gaga Crouton, the Prophet and Gaga Pikarian in her battle zone, and both players had no shield broken.

"I summon Yosakoi, Leader of Spirits!" Leona said and a golden mechanical winged lion appeared behind her and roared at Tsugumi, however the blonde girl wasn't scared at all. "Then I attack with Hatchaki and with its effect I put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom in the battle zone and draw a card. Hatchaki, break her shield!"

"Block the attack, Gaga Crouton!" Tsugumi ordered and watched how Leona's Hatchaki got destroyed by her Light Bringer creature. "Now it's my turn, I summon another Gaga Pikarian and draw a card, and then I end."

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards."

"I summon Silver Shovel and with its effect I send itself to the mana zone!"

"Heh, I send Lord Reis to the mana zone. I'm guessing it's my turn now…" Leona said while drawing her next card and then all of a sudden a grin of confidence appeared on her face. "Perfect, it's time to begin your doom!"

"What do you mean?" Tsugumi asked and watched how the girl tapped six of her mana cards.

"I cast… Heaven's Gate! With its effect I put Codename Oraora Leone and Codename Oreore Lionel into the battle zone!"

A winged golden robotic lion with laser guns on its shoulders appeared behind Leona, followed by a red armored robotic angel that wielded two swords with the colors of the rainbow.

"Those blockers…" Tsugumi murmured while staring in awe at them.

"They're the beginning of your end, chosen light duelist!" Leona declared. "Oraora Leone's effect makes all your creatures attack on your next turn if able if they didn't attack before."

"Oh no, that means that Tsugumi-chan's Gaga Pikarians will be crushed!" Luna remarked.

"Great, this means that I depend on the next card that I draw." Tsugumi thought and then she looked at her deck. "Come on, don't let me down now!" the blonde girl drew the top card, looked it and the sighed with relief. "Thank goodness…" Tsugumi whispered and then she turned to Leona and spoke with a louder voice. "It's time to cut off your claws!"

"Oh, is that so? This kitty can't wait to see you try." Leona countered.

"And it will be my pleasure! I summon… Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory!"

A robotic red creature with the body of a woman at its core wielding a golden sword appeared behind Tsugumi.

"With its effect I tap Codename Oraora Leone and Codename Oreore Lionel!" Tsugumi continued. "And now… Gaga Pikarian, break her shield!"

"Block the attack and destroy it, Yosakoi!" Leona said.

"Gaga Pikarian, break her shield!" Tsugumi continued and tapped her second Gaga Pikarian card, this time the creature managing to tear through one of Leona's shields.

"Alright, now let me show you my new power!" Leona declared as she tapped two mana cards and showed her opponent a water spell card. "I cast Brain Storm!"

"Oh no, Brain Storm! That card lets Leona draw three cards and then she chooses two cards from her hand and put them on the top of her deck." Luna explained. "I've only seen this card on the internet and it worked really great with… Oh no, Tsugumi, watch out, Leona is about to unleash a dangerous ability!"

"What could it be?" Tsugumi asked herself as she watched Leona put two cards from her hand on the top of her deck.

"And now I summon Muttamegas, Spirit of the White Lion!"

A purple robotic lion with a huge white mane and sharp golden jaws appeared behind Leona and roared; afterwards it joined the crowd of lions.

"And now I attack with Codename Oreore Lionel." Leona said as she tapped her card. "Hardcore Judge!"

"Huh? Hardcore Judge? What's that?" Tsugumi asked, being confused by the term.

"When two players play Hardcore Judge, they reveal the top cards of their decks and then put them at the bottom of their decks. If the cost of Leona's card is bigger than the cost of Tsugumi's card, then Leona wins." Luna explained.

"So this means that it's a 'game' based on luck…" Tsugumi thought while revealing the top card of her deck which was Great Hercules, Giant Insect.

"So you think! Brain Storm allowed me to put two cards on the top of my deck, so I came prepared!" Leona replied.

Leona put her hand on the top card of her deck and slowly revealed her card as well. Towards Tsugumi's disappointment, it was Codename Orewaleo.

"Heh, mine costs 7, yours costs 6, I won Hardcore Judge!" Leona said. "Now Codename Oreore Lionel's effect activates and I reveal the top cards of my deck until I find a non-evolution blocker which I put in the battle zone."

After both girls sent the two cards on the bottom of their decks, Leona began to reveal the top cards of her deck. First was Lionel Wind and second was Murmur, Apostle of Formation which she put in her battle zone.

"Oreore Lionel, double break her shields!" Leona ordered.

Tsugumi took cover as Leona's creature slashed two of her shields with both its swords. However, as the shields regenerated, she saw the two cards shine with bright light. The blonde girl took them and showed them both to Leona while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all of your creatures! Also, shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and put HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga into the battle zone!"

"Heh, I end my turn." Leona declared.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Iron Arm Tribe and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone. Gaga Pikarian, suicide with Murmur! Then Joan of Arc, destroy Codename Oraora Leone!" Tsugumi ordered and watched the creatures battle.

"You begin to sacrifice your own creatures so that you can stop mine. That's a desperate move, Tsugumi, and if there's one thing that a lioness likes most, that's the despair of her prey."

"Talk how much you want, you won't be able to scare me, you freak!"

"Oh, is that so? Too bad you won't be able to back up your claim!"

All of a sudden, Leona's right hand began to glow with a bright white aura. The girl drew her next card, quickly put it in her mana zone and then she tapped all her nine mana cards and showed a card that both Tsugumi and Luna had never seen before.

"I summon Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore"!" Leona shouted.

A huge lion-headed white warrior with four arms, that was wielding a long golden sword in the lower right arm appeared behind Leona and shined in the night with its bright white light.

"What is that?" both Tsugumi and Luna asked while staring with fear at the giant creature.

"Hahahahahahaha, meet my newest companion, Lionel! With this beauty by my side, you shall all be crushed under the power and wrath of the lioness!" Leona laughed uncontrollably. "Doomed, yes, you are all doomed!"

"Wait a minute, that card is unusual! Its mana circle is white, not red, blue, green, yellow or black!" Luna declared.

"Right you are, bookworm, this is because Lionel hails from the Zero Civilization!"

"Zero civilization? I've never heard of that one before. And besides, I thought that there were only five civilizations, that's why there are five chosen duelists." Tsugumi said.

"You see, the zero civilization is not really a civilization, it's more like a lack of a civilization. Zero creatures have transcended far beyond the five civilizations and in their quest towards absolute godhood they had managed to form their own 'civilization', thought it's rather a restrained group of creatures." Leona explained. "Basically it's like they are the gods from the Greek Pantheon sitting on mount Olympus, ready to destroy those fools beneath them. While those stupid Hunters and Aliens were waging their war, the Zero creatures, the Zeniths to be more specific, had sent their agents, the Unknowns, in all civilizations to spy upon them and turn the war into their favor. And now that the Zeniths of the Zero civilization had decided that it's time to reveal themselves, the real war is about to begin."

"Gee, thanks for the history lesson, but now I'd like to know what's the effect of your creature." Tsugumi replied with a bored voice.

"Fine, Lionel is a 13000 powered blocker and a triple breaker. Also, in case you were wondering, yes he costs 10 mana, but Yosakoi's ability made him cost one mana less. Now when I put him in the battle zone, I'll put the top card of my deck to my shields. Then you will have to choose one of my shields and return it to my hand. And to top it off, he makes all of my shields shield triggers!"

"Oh no, so this means that Leona might try to spam her field with more blockers!" Luna stated as Tsugumi watched Leona put the top card of her deck to her shields.

"Come, chosen light duelist, choose one of my shields, choose the way I'll end your fate!" Leona added.

"I pick… this one." Tsugumi declared while pointing to the middle shield.

In just a second that shield got broken into tens of shards. However, those shards reunited and formed a card that went into Leona's hand and the girl showed it to her opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Codename Build Leone!"

Another golden robotic lion appeared behind Leona, this one having white weaponry all over its body. The lioness laughed evilly and tapped her Codename Oreore Lionel card which began to shine with a bright yellow light as she shouted:

"Oreore Lionel, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

Both Tsugumi and Leona revealed their top cards once again. Tsugumi had DNA Spark, whereas Leona had Energy Stream. It was 6 VS 3 and Tsugumi was the winner. Still, even if Leona didn't manage to win Hardcore Judge, she could still break shields. Oreore Lionel slashed two more of Tsugumi's shields with its rainbow colored swords.

Tsugumi was desperate. The cards that she had got in her hand were Jasmine, Mist Faerie and Heaven's Gate. With no blockers in her hand and only one shield left, her situation wasn't very bright. Her only hope was the next card she would draw. Luckily for her, fate decided to come and help once again. The girl quickly placed Jasmine in her mana zone, then she tapped all eight mana cards and raised her hand in the air, revealing a light card which she quickly placed on her HEIKE Double Cross card.

"I evolve HEIKE Double Cross into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits!" Tsugumi shouted.

A golden armored angel with black wings and a black head that had a shining red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind the chosen light duelist. However, Leona seemed the least impressed.

"Now since you don't have an Alien in the battle zone, Gaga Alcadeias won't let you cast spells! Joan of Arc, attack and tap Lionel and Build Leone! Double break her shields!" Tsugumi ordered.

"Grr, no shield trigger." Leona said while staring angrily at the Counterattacking Silent Spark and Heaven's Gate she had received from her shields.

"Then Gaga Alcadeias, destroy Codename Oreore Lionel!"

"In your dreams! Block the attack, Yosakoi!"

"Iron Arm Tribe, break her shield! And now… I end." Tsugumi said and sweated with fear, praying for a miracle.

"Yes, it's your end, chosen light duelist!" Leona declared and all of a sudden her whole body got filled with lots of kaijudo energy that it got surrounded by a white aura.

"What's happening to her?" Luna asked.

"She's gathering all her strength almost as if she wants to destroy me…" Tsugumi commented.

"Let's go - I summon Codename Orewaleo! Codename Oreore Lionel, break her final shield!" Leona shouted and the angel took down the blonde girl's final shield with both its swords. "And now it's time to crush you with my power! LIONEL, ZENITH OF THE "ORE", SEND HER TO OBLIVION, TODOMEDA!"

The white lion warrior aimed its sword at the defenseless girl and jumped, ready to slash her into pieces. But just as everyone thought that it was the end of Tsugumi, Lionel ended up slashing something else – a plane-like creature with blue wings.

"What the…" Leona said surprised.

"Ninja strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn it into a blocker, so I block Lionel with Falconer!" Tsugumi said, giving Leona a slick smile.

"Tsh, I've had enough of your petty tricks! Codename Build Leone, TERMINATE HER!" Leona yelled.

If surviving Lionel was a miracle, this time Tsugumi had no more aces in her sleeves or lucky stars. The girl simply closed her eyes and waited for the creature to put an end to her life.

The next thing that Tsugumi heard was the noise of two metal colliding. When she opened her eyes, she was amazed of seeing Leona's golden lion being stopped by none other than Luna's Hot Spring Gallows. The blonde girl looked at her blue haired friend and saw that she was angered and that both her hands were radiating with blue kaijudo energy.

"How could this be happening? She should've been dead by now!" Leona exclaimed.

"Leona, you can do whatever you want, but DON'T YOU DARE HARM ANY OF MY FRIENDS, YOU GOT IT?" Luna yelled at the girl with blonde mane. "Pinky, get her!"

Hot Spring Gallows roared and then the fire and water Alien used its sprinkle attack to blind the lion. Afterwards it used its flamethrowers to wound it until the creature returned to its master like a scared kitten. Leona stared angrily at Luna and would've ordered her other creatures to attack the duo, but she realized that it was a waste of time and she had had her fun. All of a sudden, Leona's creatures disappeared one by one as the girl packed up her cards and spoke to both girls:

"Tsh, you were overly lucky tonight, but your luck will run out soon, chosen duelists!"

After that she turned around and disappeared in the woods.

Luna sighed in relief and Hot Spring Gallows also disappeared. The blue haired girl then walked to the blonde one and helped her up.

"Are you alright, Tsugumi-chan?"

"Don't worry, Luna, I'll survive. But man, you were so awesome! I've never seen that brave side of you before."

"Oh, that's because one of my friends was in danger and I couldn't let you be like that."

"Thank you, Luna-san, thank you for everything!" Tsugumi said and hugged Luna, making her blush.

Meanwhile Leona sneaked back to the baths, but this time she went at the men's side. There she saw Alwyn sleeping at the edge of the pool with his head and arms on the rocky ground.

"Tsh, that idiot, no wonder he didn't react and come to help me while I was facing them." Leona sighed. "Oh well, at least I had my fun."


	21. Tiger

Leona walked through a snowstorm in the mountains wearing nothing but her short golden dress. And yet for some reason the blonde girl was not cold at all. As she was wandering, she saw in the horizon a tall figure sitting with its arms crossed waiting for her. The girl rushed to it and after fighting against the strong winds she managed to reach it. The figure was none other than Kaizer and he was holding the first map piece in his right hand while staring at the girl.

"Kaizer-sama…" Leona mumbled.

"Leona, I am now on my way to mount Everest to find the second map piece. Tell the others to come with the UFO and meet me at the lap of the mountain." Kaizer ordered.

"I understand, Kaizer-sama."

All of a sudden, Leona opened her eyes and saw that she was lying in the bed of her hotel room. The annoying snores of Alwyn were breaking the silence that was in the room while the warming sun rays were announcing the ending of the night.

Leona got up from her bed and then she quickly packed their luggage. Afterwards she took a look at the window and saw two flying vehicles belonging to the police lying in the small parking lot.

"Tsh, those goodie-two-shoes must've called the cops while we were sleeping last night." Leona remarked and then she rushed to the other bed and shouted. "ALWYN, GET UP, WE'RE LEAVING!"

"What in the world's name is going on?!" Alwyn exclaimed and then he fell off the bed. "Leaving? But the hot springs are awesome here, la!"

"Kaizer-sama needs us right now, and besides, the cops are after us." Leona explained.

"The cops? But Alwyn the Onsen never stole anything!" Alwyn cried.

At the reception, Tsugumi and Luna were discussing with two policemen about what happened the other night while a third policeman was taking the dead body of the drunken man to his rocket so that they could investigate the cause of the death later.

"So how does this Leona look like?" the policeman asked.

"Her hair is big and messy, resembling a lion's mane. Her eyes are blue and you can easily see the sadism in them. Also, she is dressed in a short golden dress." Luna explained.

"Oh, don't forget that she has a white hairpin that resembles a lion head." Tsugumi added.

"Alright, I've taken down her details." a second policeman said and then he lowered his pen and cyber notebook. "Don't worry, we'll investigate the hotel and find her."

But little did the quartet know that while they were discussing, Leona and Alwyn sneaked in the men's showers with their luggage. Afterwards the duo waited inside and looked at the window to see if the coast was clear. When they saw that the third policeman got back in the hotel, they left the showers and reached the outdoor pools, and once they were there, they ran off in the forest and disappeared without leaving a trail.

Back at the reception, the policemen left Tsugumi and Luna alone and focused on finding the criminal. Tsugumi sighed with relief and sat on a chair while Luna looked at the clock and said:

"Tsugumi-chan, it's 7:30 AM, shouldn't we get ready?"

"For what, Luna-chan?" the chosen light duelist replied.

"Our train arrives in 30 minutes." Luna continued.

"Alright, let's pack our stuff and go home. Though this really wasn't the vacation I was hoping for…"

"Me neither, Tsugumi-chan, me neither."

At the chosen duelist UFO, the party had really shown its signs upon the living room. Regardless of how hard Subaru and Robert tried to clean it, there were still soda and chocolate syrup stains on the walls and floor and there was still glitter on the dance floor. However, Subaru and Robert were too exhausted to clean those and both fell asleep, Subaru on the couch and Robert on the floor.

Tiger appeared in the room dressed in yellow pajamas with black stripes and having his blonde hair all messy. He rubbed his eyes and then he took a better look at the mess.

"Tsh, they're too lazy to even clean it up. With such guys how could we expect to ever defeat Kaizer?" Tiger silently spoke to himself.

The chosen nature duelist sighed with annoyance and then he turned around and left the room.

In the meantime, Tsugumi's and Luna's train had arrived with ten minutes earlier but the girls were lucky to have packed their stuff quickly so they were able to catch it. As the train took off, Leona and Alwyn sat on a rock a few feet above them and watched how the vehicle was leaving the hotel.

"That was a close one, ah. Right, Leona?" Alwyn said.

"Tsh, at least I was able to have some fun with those two." Leona replied and then she took out a cell phone. "Alright, it's time for us to make tracks."

The girl made a phone call that was finished quick and then in a matter of seconds Kaizer's UFO appeared above the two duelists. Its front door opened and Shubham appeared with sunglasses on, a garland of blue flowers on his neck and a coconut with a straw on his right hand.

"Aloha, how are you guys doing?" Shubham greeted them.

"We're doing fine, what about you?" Leona asked while sweating.

"Oh we've been to Hawaii to relax a bit as well. You should've seen Alien at limbo, that little bugger owned all of us. I swear, this guy must have a really flexible skeleton!"

"Haha, Alwyn the Onsen can beat Alien at limbo anytime!" Alwyn countered.

"Alright, enough with the fun stuff; we've got work to do!" Leona interrupted them.

Shubham nodded to the girl and then he turned his back and waved his hand. In the next moment a white ray came out of the spaceship and teleported both Leona and Alwyn inside of it. Afterwards the door closed and the UFO took off.

A few hours later, Tsugumi and Luna had arrived at the UFO. Even though she had the keys, Tsugumi preferred to ring the door bell just to check and see if anyone was awake. Luckily, in just a matter of seconds Tiger opened the door.

"Welcome back." the blonde boy said with a smile which surprised the two.

"Thanks, Tiger. Boy, are you in a good mood today." Tsugumi replied and then both girls entered the spaceship.

"Actually, I'm not really in a good mood, but I don't think that I should stress you two with my problems." Tiger continued.

"Hihi, typical for you." Luna giggled.

"So has there anything happened while we were gone?" Tsugumi asked.

"Oh, nothing big, Subaru and Blane threw a party in the living room." Tiger said casually.

"Oh, I understand…" Tsugumi replied with her calm voice but as she thought more about it, she realized what was going on and then she shouted. "Wait, THEY DID WHAT?!"

Seeing Tsugumi's reaction, Tiger realized that both Subaru and Blane were in deep trouble. Happy to see them get what they deserved, Tiger turned around and walked away; waiting to see what was going to happen when the blonde girl reached the two party monkeys.

"God, you leave them for just a day and they already decide that it's time to throw a party!" Tsugumi lamented.

"It can't be that bad, Tsugumi-chan?" Luna suggested.

"I tell you, Luna, if I find the living room trashed, those two will have some serious problems!"

Before the blue haired girl could even react, Tsugumi dropped her luggage and rushed down the corridor all the way to the living room. When the blonde girl opened the door, she had the pleasant surprise of seeing Subaru and Robert scrubbing the last stains on the walls and floor.

"Oh hey darling, welcome back!" Subaru greeted the girl.

"Boys… I don't believe it, this place is clean!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Well why wouldn't it be clean?" Robert asked and winked.

"Tiger told me that you and Blane threw a party and I expected this place to be a total disaster…" Tsugumi said to Subaru.

"Well Tiger didn't know that I am a responsible guy, unlike…. someone else." Subaru said proudly to the girl.

"In that case, it's good to be back home!" Tsugumi said and then she hugged the black haired boy who was still holding a scrubber in his hand. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Subaru replied and then both lovers shared a warm and passionate kiss.

"Alright, I guess my job here is done…" Robert silently said and then he left the room so that he wouldn't disturb the intimate moment of the couple.

But just as he got out of the living room, Robert got face to face with Nolan whose enthusiasm was easily read on the smirk of his face.

"Robert, I think I've found a new trail to Tigra!" Nolan said while handing him another piece of paper. "You know what you've got to do."

Later that day, Blane got out of his room feeling dizzy and slowly headed to the kitchen hoping that the headache would go away. However, as he reached an intersection of corridors, Subaru came from the right and met him.

"Well, well, look who finally managed to sober up." Subaru said ironically.

"What happened? Last thing I remember was shoving lots of beer down my throat." Blane replied.

"Oh not much, you just got your hands on some bananas… and screwed things up." Subaru spoke in a more harsh tone and then he crossed his arms.

"Did you just say bananas?! Oh gosh… what did I do?" Blane said while slapping his face.

"Let's see… you shoved a banana down my throat, and then shoved another into my butt, all while making statements that suggested that I was gay."

"Oh no, I'm terribly sorry, Subaru, I don't know what came into me!"

"Haha, don't worry, apology accepted. After all, seeing you dance naked with two bananas in your ears while saying that you were a pretty lady made my day."

At the hearing of those words, Blane's jaw dropped as the boy fell into an ocean of shame. That was it, his reputation as an all around awesome hero was ruined.

However, the embarrassing moment got interrupted when a rather angered Tiger appeared down the corridor as well and walked past the two.

"Hey Tiger, how's it going, buddy?" Subaru tried to talk to him in a friendly manner.

"How's it going? Not good at all!" Tiger harshly replied.

"How come? Is something wrong?" Subaru asked with concern.

"Yes, something's definitely wrong!" Tiger continued and then he turned to the two duelists and gave them a furious stare. "And that's all of you!"

"All of us? What's the matter dude, did you drink more than me?" Blane joked.

"I didn't drink, 'dude', because I have better stuff to do, and that's worrying about Kaizer! While all of you were on vacation and partying, all I could ever do was fear that Kaizer might already have gotten his hands on the next map piece and is probably one step closer to reaching Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple, and all because you guys had nothing better to do than waste your time relaxing!"

After Tiger spat his whole anger at the two of them, he turned his back and left.

"Sheesh, what's gotten into him?" Blane asked.

"I don't know yet, but I'll try to find out." Subaru responded.

All of a sudden, an alarm resounded in the whole spaceship and made both Subaru and Blane jump in the air, waking up to reality. The duo rushed to the control room where Luna, Tsugumi, Tamma and Nolan were already present. Nolan was sitting on the driver's seat, ready to pilot the UFO, Luna was sitting at the main computer and was pressing buttons with the speed of a rabbit, and Tsugumi and Tamma were standing on their feet in the middle of the room.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Subaru asked.

"Luna just detected on her radar a strange vehicle moving with huge speed towards the Himalayas. There is only one person whom we know that would have interest there." Tsugumi explained.

"So this means that we're going on another mission?" Subaru pointed out.

"Seems so." Blane added.

"The coordinates are set. All systems ready for launch." Luna announced.

"Then let's get this baby in the skies!" Nolan declared as he pressed a red button.

All of a sudden, the room began shaking and the UFO got two rocket engines come out of its back. The spacecraft slowly rose from the ground and in a matter of seconds the engines shot flames out and the vehicle took off into the clouds.

Inside the control room, the spirits seemed to have calmed. Tamma was sitting on a table and rocking back and forth, Tsugumi was admiring the sights from the window, Blane was resting on a chair and Subaru was sitting by Luna's side while the girl kept staring at the map from the computer screen.

"So what's the situation, Luna?" Subaru asked.

"If everything goes well, we should be able to reach Kaizer in half an hour." Luna responded.

"That's great! And by the way, Luna, you've known Tiger for quite some time, right?"

"Yes, you're right, Subaru, I've known him ever since I got into Duel Masters."

"Then could you care to tell me why is he always so grumpy? It's like nothing in this world can make him smile with happiness."

"Oh that… Well, it's a long story."

"I got my time." Subaru announced while sitting on the seat next to Luna.

"Very well, I guess it's no harm telling you all." Luna replied and then the blue haired girl noticed that everyone's attention turned to her. "I first met Tiger when I was seven years old. I was heading home and decided to take a shortcut through a dark alley and that's where a bunch of hooligans picked on me. They stole my cards and were about to rip them in front of me, when…"

_Ten years ago, in a dark alley from the city of the chosen duelists, a little blue haired girl wearing glasses and a primary schoolgirl uniform was crying while a fat brown haired teen was holding her hands to her back and making her watch how his friends were about to rip her cards one by one._

"_Haha, let's see with which one shall we start. I know, let's take little Emeral." a tall and skinny blonde teen said as he showed an Emeral card. _

"_No, don't harm it! It's my only copy of it!" little Luna cried out._

"_Poor little missy is going to cry?" a bald boy of medium height with an earring in his left ear mocked her. "Do it!"_

_Just as the tall boy was about to tear Luna's Emeral to shreds, he felt the strength of a hand grab his arm and force him to let go of the card. Then someone quickly grabbed it and disappeared._

"_Hey, who did that?" the bald teen asked._

_A punch in the face was the only answer he received. As he fell on the ground and dropped the water cards of Luna's deck, a small figure came out of the darkness and grabbed them all. The other two teens immediately recognized the stranger and the tall one exclaimed:_

"_What are you doing here, punk? This isn't your…"_

_Before he could finish his sentence, he felt an incredible pain in his groin region and fell on his knees. Then he received a punch in the face which knocked him out as well. Shocked of such power, the fat teen let go of Luna and ran off as much as his meaty legs allowed him. _

"_Do you need any help?" the voice of a little boy resounded._

_Little Luna adjusted her glasses and saw that the one who saved her was a boy around her age with messy blonde hair and who was wearing a green T shirt with holes torn into it, short white pants and sandals with mud stains. _

"_Thank you." Luna replied and then she grabbed the blonde's hand and got up. _

"_Here, I'm guessing this belongs to you." the boy said and then he handed Luna her deck._

"_Yes it does." Luna confirmed while taking her deck back and checking to see if any of her cards was harmed. "Thank you once again."_

"_Meh, it was nothing." the boy dismissed while turning his head away._

"_My name is Luna, what is your name?"_

"_I don't have a real name… but the guys I know call me Tiger due to my fighting skills and looks." _

"_Nice meeting you, Tiger. Do you want to come to my home and play?"_

_At the hearing of that offer, little Tiger's cheeks immediately turned red. Luna giggled at him and said:_

"_Why are you so embarrassed?" _

"_It's just… I never had anyone invite me at their home." Tiger shyly replied._

"_Then it pleases me to be the first!" Luna said and grabbed his hand. "Come, let's go!"_

_And so the two kids ran off from the dark alley and headed towards a flat. _

"When I introduced Tiger to my parents, they were a little skeptical in letting a boy of the streets into their house to play with me. However, when I explained how he saved me, they agreed to let him stay." Luna narrated.

"But that still doesn't explain his attitude." Subaru intervened.

"I am getting there." Luna replied and then she continued the story. "When my parents asked Tiger about his family, he told us that he ran away from home a year ago. His parents were both drunken jobless people that would always beat their children up and send them to steal stuff so they could get money to drink some more. Tiger also had a sister, but she died at the age of six from starving for a week. His sister's death was the last straw and since that moment Tiger left his family's house and joined his real home – the jungle we call city. He was raised on the streets and the hooligans whom he befriended taught him to fight and used him as their weapon against other gangs. Basically he lived that kind of life for a year until he met me."

"And what happened after he met you?" Tsugumi asked.

"I introduced him to Duel Masters and while he was browsing through my card collection, Fighter Dual Fang was the one creature that caught his interest. He asked me how to make a deck around it and I helped him build a basic Beast Folk evolution creature deck. He had a sharp mind and learned the game pretty quick. At that time I was using Cyber Lords and during our duels he used to defeat me a lot, regardless of how many shield triggers I had because he kept rushing me with his smallies. Hehe, for a moment I thought he was a fire duelist and not a nature one."

"So Tiger loved the mana accelerating and power boost skills of the nature civilization." Nolan remarked.

"Indeed he did." Luna nodded. "However, once he became better at dueling, he returned to his old ways of fighting gangs on the streets, but this time he was a loner. He entered in underground dueling tournaments and kept winning game after game, attracting the jealousy of many bad people to the point where they set a price for his head. In other words, Tiger had to run from place to place in order to save his life. The next time I met him was at Hakuoh-sama's school, and he was changed. He was no longer the nice boy that saved my life, no, he was a loner that viewed everyone around him as being the enemy. He trusted in nobody and preferred to stand in the back and watch the others like a predator who was preparing to strike. Fortunately, he never did strike."

"Yeah, because that was when me and Luna came in!" Tamma intervened.

All of a sudden the whole room shook. An alert was turned on and they saw on the computer screen that another UFO was attacking them from behind.

"Kaizer…" Nolan angrily murmured.

"Don't worry; I have installed weapons that will help us respond back!" Luna said while pressing some buttons and making four laser cannons come out of the UFO's exterior walls and aimed at Kaizer's UFO.

All of a sudden, the image of Leona appeared on their computer screen much to everyone's shock.

"Greetings, chosen losers, I presume you wonder why we are attacking on you." Leona spoke with an ironic tone in her voice.

"Wow, took you hard to figure that one out." Subaru fought back with the same irony.

"We are both heading in the same direction – the Himalayas, so I thought to make our trip a little interesting." Leona continued, this time with a more serious voice.

"And what do you have in mind, you creep?" Tsugumi asked.

"A UFO kaijudo duel! One of your guys will come on the top of your UFO and face one of our guys that will be on the top of our UFO." Leona explained.

"And what do we gain from this?" Nolan brought up.

"We cease our attacks on you. Don't expect presents, I'm not Santa." Leona continued with the sarcasm.

"So when is this duel starting?" Luna asked.

"Right now!" Leona replied and then her image disappeared from the computer screen.

Meanwhile at the highest level of the spacecraft, Blane was looking for an opening in the ceiling that would let him get to the roof.

"Leona, you're still obsessed with power, I see. Well then, it's time for this hero to show you what real power is!" Blane spoke to himself while still searching.

"Don't bother, 'hero', this is not your battle." a voice resounded from the darkness.

"Who said that?!" Blane burst out.

"I did!" Tiger said while stepping out of the dark. "Sorry, mister stalker, but this cat's gonna take this battle into his own paws."

Before Blane could react, Tiger pressed a button from the wall and made a hole appear in the floor right under the brown haired teen's feet in which he fell to the lower level. Tiger gave him a victorious smirk and afterwards he closed the hole in the floor and opened another one in the ceiling through which he climbed to the roof.

The blonde chosen duelist looked around and he saw that the enemy UFO was right next to theirs and that both vehicles were heading towards a chain of mountains in the horizon. The weather was getting colder and colder, and the sun was getting covered by clouds. A hole appeared in the roof of Kaizer's UFO and out of it climbed none other than Alien.

"You're my challenge? This will be easier than I've thought!" Tiger declared while taking out his glowing deck from his pockets.

Alien was also holding a glowing deck in its right hand. Two metallic dueling tables rose out of each UFO's roof and both players set their cards on them. With the usual 'Duel start!' shout their match began.

"Tsh, what an awful hand with such big costing guys…" Tiger lamented in his mind. "Good thing I have this little guy."

Tiger tapped Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord and Natural Snare in his mana zone and then he showed a multicolored card to his opponent while saying:

"I summon Yattare Pippi."

"That bird will not be here for too long!" Alien declared while tapping DNA Spark and Shadowflash Revival Spiral in its mana zone. "I cast Spiral Gate and send Yattare Pippi back to your hand."

"Shit!" Tiger thought while the card got bounced to his hand. "Alright, let's not panic."

The blonde teen placed Quatro Fang, Burning Soul into his mana zone tapped and then he tapped the other two cards and showed the same card once again.

"I summon Yattare Pippi." Tiger announced.

"You should learn when to give up, human." Alien advised while putting Hyperspatial Gallows Hole in its mana zone and tapping all three cards. "I cast Miraculous Snare and send Yattare Pippi to your shields!"

"Not good!" Tiger thought while watching the card get bounced and land face down in his shield zone. "Oh great, if I don't draw a low cost card this turn I'm screwed…"

Luckily for Tiger, the next card he drew cost 4 mana. Putting a smile on his face once again, the chosen nature duelist quickly placed Raging Apache Lizard into his mana zone and then he tapped all four mana cards.

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe! With its effect I put the top card of my deck to my mana zone." Tiger declared and then he watched how Rampaging Horse 'Koku-Oh Version' landed in his mana zone.

"I summon Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Miraculous Snare to my hand." Alien said while grabbing the mentioned spell from his graveyard.

"I summon Silver Shovel and with its effect I send it and your Chief De Baula to our mana zones! Iron Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

The white haired and red caped horse like warrior jumped from one UFO to another and used its club to break Alien's middle shield into pieces. Afterwards the creature jumped back on the chosen duelist UFO.

"I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole and draw a card. Afterwards I put Mother Alien (Gladly) into the battle zone." Alien said and then a faceless queen with pink hair and a white dress out of which blue fish with sharp teeth were coming out appeared behind him.

"Heh, I'm sorry kid, but your mommy is going back where she came from!" Tiger said and then she showed a nature spell. "I cast Natural Snare and send Mother Alien back to the hyperspatial zone!"

The alien queen got surrounded by a green aura and she screamed in pain as she vanished into thin air.

"Iron Arm Tribe, break another shield!" Tiger ordered and the horse like warrior repeated its attack and broke the farthest shield from Alien's right.

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card. Afterwards I cast Miraculous Snare and send Iron Arm Tribe to your shields." Alien said and then he watched how Tiger's creature disappeared and the chosen duelist gained a seventh shield.

"Tsh, I've lost my chance of attacking him… for now." Tiger thought and then he drew his next card and showed it to his opponent. "I summon Mykee's Pliers and end."

"I evolve Gaga Pikarian into Emperor Cebu Marco X!"

The small white alien driving a mini submarine got surrounded by a blue aura and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, the alien was now a huge green alien that had a red X for eyes and three mouths that had sharp teeth.

"Emperor Cebu Marco X lets me draw three cards. And now I also summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet. Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break his shields!" Alien ordered and the giant green alien attacked the two shields which Tiger gained through Miraculous Snare.

"Tsh…" Tiger murmured as he stared at the Iron Arm Tribe and Yattare Pippi from his shields, he not needing those cards in that moment. "Let's see what the deck offers me."

After Tiger drew his next card, he put Iron Arm Tribe in his mana and then tapped eight mana. He showed two cards to his opponent and said:

"I summon Yattare Pippi and Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation! And since Mykee's Pliers make all my nature creatures speed attackers, I use Dimension Horn's effect and destroy it. Afterwards I put two psychic creatures that cost exact or less than the number of cards from my mana zone. And since I have 9 mana… I bring Chain-Arm Tribe and Quatro Fang, Soul Gang Leader out!"

A white horse like warrior appeared behind Tiger alongside a large white tiger like warrior. Both beasts roared loudly at Alien.

"I end my turn." Tiger announced.

"Fine, then it's time to finish this!" Alien declared while placing a light card upon his only light creature in the battle zone. "I evolve Gaga Crouton into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits!"

A golden armored angel with black wings and a black head that had a shining red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind Alien.

"Gaga Alcadeias does not allow you to cast any spells while you don't have an Alien in the battle zone. Now go, Gaga Alcadeias, triple break his shields!" Alien ordered and Gaga Alcadeias fired a purple lightning from its right hand which took down three of Tiger's shields. "Emperor Cebu Marco X, break his final shields!" Alien continued and the giant green creature spat three blue laser beams from its mouths which destroyed Tiger's last shields.

When the attack finished, the shield shards quickly united into five cards which Tiger took into his hand. None of them were shield triggers, but it didn't matter since he was about to win.

"Alright, time to end this!" Tiger declared. "I summon Apache Hyahho and with its effect I put Shoot Fighter Pippi into the battle zone. Afterwards I evolve Apache Hyahho into Great Hercules, Giant Insect!"

"Uh oh, this is not good!" Alien thought while seeing the giant blue insect materialize by Tiger's side.

"I attack with Great Hercules and using its effect evolve Shoot Fighter Pippi into Quatro Fang, Burning Soul from my mana zone! Go, Great Hercules, double break his shields! Chain Arm Tribe, break his final shield!"

Alien took cover as the creatures broke his last three shields, and much towards his disappointment, none of the cards were shield triggers. The creature trembled as it saw Tiger proudly deliver the finishing blow.

"Quatro Fang, Burning Soul, todomeda! GET HIM, TORA!" Tiger shouted.

The huge sumo-like warrior made of flames, with an X mark on its chest and the head of a tiger roared and spat streams of fire upon the poor Alien, blowing it and its cards off of Kaizer's UFO. As the defeated being fell to the ground, a beam came out of the UFO that teleported it and its cards back inside. Afterwards Kaizer's UFO flew ahead of them towards the Himalayas.

Back inside of the UFO, the other chosen duelists were cheering happily for the victory of their teammate.

"Alright, Tiger did it!" Tamma exclaimed.

"He may have had an awful start, but with his mana accelerating and creature spam he managed to turn the game to his favor." Nolan commented.

"So Luna, what did you say that happened once you met Tiger at school?" Subaru brought back the conversation.

"I tried talking to him but he was cold and a little mean to me, kind of like how you were back at the school. Back at that time I had befriended Tamma and he didn't like at all Tiger's attitude, so he challenged him to a duel." Luna continued the story.

"Boy was he tough!" Tamma added. "I lost to him like no tomorrow, but I told him that no matter what happens, I would do my best to defeat him."

"Tiger liked his ambition and my supportive attitude, so slowly we managed to melt his icy heart. He may still act mean towards others, but deep down inside we know that he cares for his friends." Luna explained.

"And we've seen this right now." Subaru said. "Heh, if anything, I think that we'll be able to get along with his tough guy attitude. And I can't blame him, he was raised that way."

"Indeed. The point is that Tiger is a part of the family and we'll accept him the way he is." Tsugumi added.

Meanwhile at the UFO's roof, Tiger was staring at the mountains which the spaceship was approaching and the clouds above them that were getting bigger and bigger.

"A new storm is coming…" Tiger whispered.


	22. Hanna's intervention

The freezing winds from the Himalayas were blowing powerfully, covering everything in their way with snow. The narrow rocky paths that lead to the top of Mount Everest seemed impossible to pass even for the strongest of men. But their height did not scare away ambitious alpinists who had tried in the past and managed to climb the highest mountain off planet Earth. And now, just like them, Kaizer was standing at the lap of the mountain staring at the mighty creation of nature and eagerly waiting to reach the top where his prize was located.

All of a sudden he heard the sounds of engines behind him. He turned his back to the mountain and saw that his UFO had finally arrived. Its door opened and Leona greeted him inside. Kaizer slowly walked to the spaceship, his footsteps on the snow making the girl's heartbeats grow faster and faster. Once his feet began to touch the metallic floor of the UFO, everyone's spines shivered because they realized that their master had at last returned.

"Welcome back, Kaizer-sama!" Leona said.

"We missed you, la." Alwyn added.

"Alright, people, we've all had our little vacation, now it's time to return to our business." Kaizer announced and then he turned to Alien. "Set the coordinates for the top of Mount Everest, that's where the second map piece lies."

"As you wish, Kaizer-sama!" Alien replied and began to press buttons.

"So Kaizer-sama, how exactly are we going to get our hands on the map?" Leona asked.

"Easy, I will jump out of the UFO, land on the top of the mountain, grab the map piece and then we're off to find the next one." Kaizer explained.

"There is a problem though, Kaizer-sama." Shubham intervened. "The chosen duelists are on their way here and they should catch up with us in any moment."

"Let them come, my power is far greater than theirs!" Kaizer declared.

And so Kaizer's UFO took off to the top of Mount Everest, but their trip would not be an easy one as they expected, for the storm clouds surrounding the mountains were about to become a great hindrance to them.

Meanwhile at the chosen duelist UFO, the spaceship had just entered the Himalayas and was heading to Everest as well, following the tracks of Kaizer's vehicle with high speed. There was no moment to be wasted, for the fate of the world lied upon our heroes.

Inside the UFO, Tiger was heading back to the control room after his match with Alien, but even if he had won the duel he didn't show the least sign of joy. While walking on the corridor, he had the surprise of seeing Blane open the main door of the UFO as if he was about to walk out while the vehicle was moving with high speed. Once he opened the door, snow started entering the UFO.

"Blane, what the hell are you doing?!" Tiger shouted.

"Just going out, I've got something important to do." Blane replied while taking his Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame card out of his pocket.

"And what might that be?"

"You'll see soon, kitty cat. Until then… let's go, EP!"

A red and gold phoenix that was holding four long blades with its wings appeared outside and the brown haired teen jumped on its back, both taking off to Mount Everest and flying even faster than the UFO. Tiger stared at them until they disappeared into the clouds and afterwards he closed the door. The blonde chosen duelist went to the control room, but instead of entering it, he preferred to stand by the door and see what was going on inside. Nolan was piloting the ship with Luna as his co-pilot, Subaru and Tsugumi were dueling and Tamma was playing on Luna's laptop.

"I summon Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon and Bolshack Superhero!" Subaru said while tapping his nine mana cards and then he put the two cards in his battle zone. "Bolshack Superhero's effect destroys all creatures with power 3000 or less."

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she watched her two Gaga Pikarians go to her graveyard and Iron Arm Tribe go to her mana zone.

"Bolshack Superhero's effect also destroys my Fuuma Bajir, and when he is destroyed I may discard a card from your hand." Subaru continued and then he discarded Great Hercules, Giant Beetle from Tsugumi's hand. "I end."

"Alright, it's my turn now; I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet and evolve it into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits!" Tsugumi said and then a golden armored angel with black wings and a black head that had a shining red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind her as a hologram. "And since you have no Aliens in the battle zone, Gaga Alcadeias won't allow you to cast spells. Go, Gaga Alcadeias, break his last shields!"

Gaga Alcadeias roared and fired a purple lightning beam from its right hand which pierced through each of Subaru's holographic shields. Subaru took the three cards into his hand and then a sudden smile appeared on his face.

"It's time to turn the game to my favor!" Subaru declared while charging mana and tapping his ten cards. "Evolution! Bolshack Superhero, become Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons!"

The armored dragon with gray armor, flaming hands and red head with fire hair got surrounded by a purple aura and morphed into a grey demon with red wings, a white X mark on its chest, a black goat head with yellow eyes that was wielding a sword in its left hand.

"Ballom Hunter destroys all creatures that are not Hunters, so say good bye to your creature!" Subaru said and watched how his holographic Ballom Hunter fired a beam of darkness from its right hand that engulfed and destroyed Tsugumi's holographic Gaga Alcadeias, making her two cards bounce from the battle zone into her graveyard. "Now let me return you the favor, my dear. Ballom Hunter, break her last shields!"

Ballom Hunter swung its sword and slashed the three holographic shields of Tsugumi's, making the girl get three cards in her hand. The blonde girl looked worried into her hand and then she said to her lover:

"Alright, I'm in a hard situation once again, let's see how I'll get out of it."

"I'm waiting." Subaru replied with a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"Guys, knock off the game, we've got more important business to handle!" Nolan said.

"Yes, the radar has detected Kaizer's UFO and it seems that just like us they are fighting with these snowstorms." Luna added.

"How long is it until we reach them?" Tsugumi asked.

"Around a few minutes… It seems that they're heading to the top of the mountain."

At the hearing of those words, Tiger turned around and quickly headed to the main door of the UFO. On his way he looked at the windows of the corridor and saw how the vehicle was rising up the snowy mountain on its way to the highest mountaintop in the world. And he knew that that was the place where their next showdown would be.

Kaizer's UFO was a few feet away from the top but the powerful snowstorm would not let the spaceship pass. Inside the vehicle Alien was trying his best to boost the power of the engines so that they would manage to defeat the powerful force of nature.

"How long does it take to surpass this damned storm?" Kaizer asked impatiently.

"I'm trying my best, Kaizer-sama, but the winds and the snow are just too much for the spacecraft!" Alien replied.

"Then forget it, I'll do it by myself!"

Kaizer turned his back and rushed to the exit door of the UFO. Once he opened it, a powerful wind pushed lots of snow against his armor but he was not intimidated. The armored duelist jumped out of the UFO and landed onto the mountain. He looked up and saw that he was only 20 feet away from his prize. How did he know that? It was because at the very top of Mount Everest there was a small shining golden circle. Not thinking twice, Kaizer began to climb the mountain, opposing the rage of nature with all his strength.

But little did Kaizer know that while he was climbing the chosen duelist UFO had reached his. Upon seeing them on camera, Leona ordered that Alien fired all of their spaceship's weapons upon them. Once they reached the enemy UFO, Luna and Nolan prepared their own guns to fight back. During this time Tiger sought the opportunity to jump out of the UFO and climb on the mountain as well. He may have been a few feet under Kaizer, but he was not going to allow the villain to get his hands on the map piece.

"Alright, Alien, on my mark. 3… 2… 1… OPEN FIRE!" Leona ordered.

Alien pressed a red button and then a laser cannon that was bigger than all of the laser guns from the chosen duelist UFO came out of the roof of Kaizer's UFO. The gun pointed directly at the control and once it fired it would've meant the end of the heroes. However, just as the cannon began to charge with its power, Eternal Phoenix appeared out of the stormy cloud and used its swords to slash it off the UFO. Afterwards Blane jumped off the Phoenix and entered in the enemy ship through the hole in the roof. Once he landed on the metallic floor of the spaceship, he got face to face with Leona.

"Blane…" Leona angrily spoke.

"We meet again." Blane replied with the same tone.

"Sadly I'm afraid that I'm way too busy to play with you now."

"Oh but I insist that we do play, 'dear' Leona."

"Get over it, stupid male, we were never meant to be together!"

Before Blane could respond to the girl, Leona pressed a button on Alien's keyboard while still looking at him in the eye and in the next moment a hole appeared in the floor through which the brown haired teen fell.

Seeing that, Eternal Phoenix flew off Kaizer's spacecraft and seared through the air to save its master. In the meantime the chosen duelist UFO began to fire upon Kaizer's UFO, the laser battle thus beginning.

While the others were battling, Kaizer had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. The evil genius put his left hand on the top and got his head up to see the map piece floating a few centimeters above the mountain surrounded by a golden aura.

"This is it, you're all mine!" Kaizer said and then he stretched his right hand to grab it.

But just then Kaizer felt something grabbing him and pulling him down, thus preventing him from getting his prize. The armored duelist looked down and saw that Tiger was holding onto the mountain with his left hand and pulling his red cape with his right hand.

"Sorry, pal, but you're not getting that thing today!" Tiger threatened.

"Let go of me, foolish being! I don't have time for games!" Kaizer replied.

When Kaizer looked up once again to see the map piece, he saw a black dragon with nine heads fly by and snatch it. On that dragon's back there was a blue haired girl dressed in a gray sleeveless shirt, black sleeves on her arms that weren't attached to the shirt so that her shoulders were showing, a blue tie, a black mini skirt and long black boots. It was none other than Hanna, and the dragon she was riding was Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg. One of the dragon heads handed her the map piece and the girl studied it a bit and afterwards she turned her head to the armored duelist and said:

"Too bad, Kaizer, it seems that today you won't be getting any map piece!"

"Good job Hanna, now go back at the UFO and let me handle him!" Tiger instructed her.

"Sorry, pal, but you're not having your way today!" Kaizer said and then he fired a beam of darkness upon Tiger that made the blonde chosen duelist let go of both his cape and the mountain, thus falling to his doom.

"Oh no, Tiger!" Hanna yelled.

In the next moment Eternal Phoenix rose from the depths of the snowstorm with both Blane and Tiger lying unconscious on its back. Hanna smiled to the creature and said:

"Thank you, now take them back to safety."

Eternal Phoenix nodded to the blue haired girl and headed back to the chosen duelist UFO which was still battling Kaizer's UFO. But as Hanna watched the phoenix disappear in the clouds, Kaizer flew off the mountain top and ended up face to face with her and Lunarzberg.

"Return that map to me immediately!" Kaizer demanded.

"No can do, big guy!" Hanna replied and hid it in her shirt's pocket. "You'll have to get it the hard way!"

The blue haired girl took a deck out of the same pocket which glowed with a bright purple aura. Kaizer waved his right arm and made an invisible floor appear under his and Lunarzberg's feet. Afterwards he waved his left arm and made two metal dueling tables appear in front of him and the dragon. Seeing that it was safe for her, Hanna made Lunarzberg disappear and return into her card and afterwards the girl sat at the table and put her deck onto it.

Six purple glowing spheres appeared behind Kaizer and rotated around the armored villain. He reached his right hand and grabbed one, making it turn into a deck. The other spheres disappeared.

"Duel start!" both duelists chanted, thus beginning their match.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card." Kaizer said.

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Hanna said and then the top cards of her deck which were Necrodragon Guljeneraid and Hades Death Gate went to her graveyard, afterwards she put Bone Dance Charger into her mana zone.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"I summon Heavy, Dragon God! With its effect I destroy Heavy and draw a card. Now you must also destroy one of your creatures."

"I destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow."

"And then since one of my Dragons got destroyed, Necrodragon Guljeneraid goes from my graveyard into the battle zone!"

A dark brown dragon with wings and arms appeared behind Hanna and roared at Kaizer.

"I evolve Maxval into Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!" Kaizer said and then a red winged three headed eyeless dragon appeared behind him and roared at Hanna. "And now I end."

"Shachihoko Kaiser… this'll mean bad news for me. I have to get rid of him quick!" Hanna thought and then she spoke to her opponent. "I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The cards that went to the blue haired girl's graveyard were Yabasgil Wrap and Necrodragon Heavy Kerberos.

"Then I summon Necrodragon Onobashi Raon! Necrodragon Guljeneraid, double break his shields, ike!" Hanna ordered and the dark brown dragon spat fire from its mouth and destroyed two of Kaizer's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Necrodragon Onobashi Raon!" Kaizer said and then a black gate appeared behind him and opened, revealing black tentacles with mouths that came out and devoured Hanna's dragon. "Then with Death Gate's effect I revive Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes, and now it is time to show you my true power, girl! I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it." Kaizer said and discarded Dimension Splitter from Hanna's hand. "Afterwards with Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I put Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A three headed alien dragon in a sharp metallic armor and with red wings appeared next to Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and shrieked loudly.

"Then I also summon Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian and destroy it to return Hades Death Gate to my hand. Afterwards I use Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect once again and put Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler into the battle zone!"

A fat sumo alien made of lava appeared behind Kaizer and joined his other two alien creatures.

"Then I attack Necrodragon Guljeneraid with Hot Spring Crimson Meow. Guljeneraid destroys my creature and Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect will bring Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!"

A three headed red robot with flame throwers and water sprinklers appeared behind Kaizer and joined the other aliens.

"Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, attack Necrodragon Guljeneraid!" Kaizer ordered and then he watched how his dragon fired lasers from its three mouths upon the dark brown dragon, making it explode in a matter of seconds. "I end."

"This is not good; he popped out three psychic creatures in just one turn!" Hanna thought while staring with fear at Kaizer's aliens. "Next turn they will psychic link unless I do something."

The blue haired girl reached her hand to her deck and then she felt a pulse coming out of it. She smiled after she sensed it and her hand glowed with a bright purple aura. Kaizer watched how she drew her next card and put the other one from her hand into her mana zone. The eight cards from Hanna's mana zone tapped and the blue haired girl showed an 8 mana 8000 powered darkness creature card while saying:

"I summon Codename Yabasgil Skill!"

A green dragon looking warrior appeared behind Hanna and the girl searched her graveyard and took a card to her hand while saying:

"With its effect I return Necrodragon Heavy Kerberos to my hand and destroy your Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler!"

The sumo alien made of lava suddenly blew up, but Kaizer didn't seem scared at all of Hanna's creature. Once he saw that she had ended her turn, he said:

"Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser's effect lets me put a creature with cost 3 or less into the battle zone from my graveyard at the start of my turn. So I put Jenny, the Suicide Doll into the battle zone and destroy it to discard Heavy Kerberos from your hand! Afterwards I put Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler into the battle zone with Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect!"

Hanna watched with shock how the alien made of lava reappeared once again by Kaizer's side.

"And now I cast Terror Pit and destroy Codename Yabasgil Skill!" Kaizer said and then two black demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Hanna's creature smashing it to bits. "I end my turn."

The situation wasn't good at all for Hanna. Even though she had 8 mana, there were no cards in her hand and Kaizer still had his giant creatures out. Now the poor girl was depending on her draw.

"I summon… Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and destroy it. Now you have to destroy one of your creatures." Hanna said with a disappointed voice.

"I destroy Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and with its effect I put another Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!" Kaizer said. "And now it is my turn. Get ready to experience hell, little girl! Psychic Link – Gallows Hellish Dragon, Brink of Despair!"

Kaizer's three psychic alien creatures united and got surrounded by a bright aura. When the aura faded away, Hanna was amazed to see a huge dark blue dragon with three long heads and two sharp wings that each had a huge mouth with sharp teeth on their upper side. The dragon also had sharp paws and sharp claws.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery." Kaizer said and revealed the top cards of his deck which were Self-Destructing Gil Poser, Triple Revival Resurrection and Cebu Aquman Jr. "Triple Revival Resurrection goes to my hand, the other two to my graveyard. And now I attack with Gallows Hellish Dragon and… mill your deck!"

The dragon screeched loudly at Hanna and the scared girl watched how the cards of her deck all went to her graveyard with the exception of the last two from her bottom. Then the dragon fired lasers from its mouths and took down three of her shields.

"Sh-shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows!" Hanna said and then two black hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Kaizer's alien, crushing it to bits.

"You know that when you draw the last card of your game you lose, right? If you have only two cards left, that means that this turn is your last." Kaizer calmly spoke.

"I'm not done with you!" Hanna declared. "I summon Dark Lupia and two Drilling Squitos!"

"How can those blockers protect you from your imminent destruction? Oh well, I cast Triple Revival Resurrection and put Self-Destructing Gil Poser, Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Maxval, Electro-Fuuma into the battle zone from my graveyard. Then I destroy Gil Poser and your Dark Lupia. And with Hot Spring Crimson Meow's effect I draw a card. Go, Gallows Hellish Dragon, break her last shields!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and put Heavy, Dragon God into the battle zone from my graveyard! With its effect I destroy Heavy and draw a card!"

"I destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow."

"Then I put all three Necrodragon Guljeneraid from the graveyard into the battle zone!" Hanna said and then three dark brown dragons appeared behind her and roared.

"Impressive comeback, girl, but I am afraid that the game is over!" Kaizer declared.

Gulping, Hanna slowly drew her last card and saw that it was Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg. However, she could not use it because there were no more cards in her deck, and thus she had lost the game. All of a sudden, an explosion came out of nowhere and made Hanna fall off the invisible floor. However, Kaizer fired a beam upon the girl which kept her in the air and then he approached her and took out the map piece from her pocket.

"Thank you and good bye!" Kaizer said and let the girl land on the invisible floor.

The armored duelist flew off back to his UFO and made his way through the laser battle inside the spaceship. Once he saw that his master had what he came for, Alien made the spaceship fly off.

Seeing that they had lost the battle, the chosen duelists flew to the place of the duel to save Hanna and afterwards Nolan set the coordinates of the UFO back to their city.

Later that day, Subaru and Tsugumi were sitting in the hospital room and looking at the wounded Tiger and Hanna that were lying unconscious in two hospital beds.

"Poor them, they tried their best and still couldn't defeat Kaizer." Tsugumi said sourly.

"I know, it seems like this guy is invincible!" Subaru replied.

"No, that can't be true, everybody has a weakness! We just have to find his."

"That will be the hard part, dear."

Subaru then looked around and noticed something. The black haired chosen duelist quickly got up and spoke to the blonde girl:

"Tsugumi, where is Blane? He was supposed to be here too!"

"Blane? He woke up an hour ago and told me that he was going to his room." Tsugumi replied.

"That idiot, he shouldn't be overlooking his wounds!" Subaru said with worry and then he stormed out of the hospital room.

The chosen darkness duelist walked all the way to Blane's room and once he reached it, he gently knocked the door. Seeing that he got no response, he entered the room only to find a mess typical to a teenage boy – cards everywhere, gym equipment and clothes thrown on the bed.

"Gosh, for a hero he sure needs to make some order in the place he lives." Subaru said while sweating. "Blane! Are you here?"

"Gee, dude, what is it?" Blane replied and walked out of the bathroom with a towel covering his body and another one on his head which he was using to dry his hair.

"Just what do you think you're doing out of the hospital room? Your wounds haven't fully recovered and…"

"So what?" Blane asked while taking the towel off his head. "It's not like I'm gonna die tomorrow!"

All of a sudden, Subaru got stunned. Blane was a little surprised about his reaction but then he realized that he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. Subaru could see that Blane's eyes weren't normal – their iris color was half red and half yellow.

"What happened to your eyes, dude?" Subaru asked.

"It's… a long story." Blane replied and sighed.


	23. The tale of two wanderers

When Hanna opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying on a bed in a room filled with medical equipment. After processing in her mind what she was seeing, she realized that she was in the UFO's hospital room. The last thing she remembered was the sudden explosion that came out of nowhere because she had lost her kaijudo duel against Kaizer due to Gallows Hellish Dragon milling her deck. The blue haired girl got up from her bed and saw that Tsugumi was sitting in a corner staring at the beds.

"Took you some time to wake up." Tsugumi noticed.

"Seems so." Hanna replied. "I'm sorry I couldn't prevent Kaizer from getting the map piece."

"Don't worry; we'll get back at him for that. Anyway, Hanna-san, how did you get here? Better yet, how did you know that we were pursuing Kaizer?"

"It was Blane. He contacted me, and I don't know how he got my number, and told me that you guys were in need of my help. He also gave me the exact coordinates of your location, so I summoned Lunarzberg and we took off to find you guys."

"Blane was the one that called you here? Hm… I wonder what he is up to."

Meanwhile in Blane's room, the brown haired teen was sitting on the bed still with just a towel on while Subaru was sitting in front of him on a chair, eager to hear the story behind Blane's strange eyes.

"When I said that after you guys defeated Rezo I began to keep an eye on you, I lied." Blane confessed.

"What do you mean that you lied, Blane?" Subaru asked.

"Simple as that. After Rezo's death, I decided that the world was in good hands so far and went on my way. During the time I was passing a city, I noticed in the outskirts three thugs picking on a girl. However, this girl wasn't an ordinary girl. She challenged all three to kaijudo duels and in a swoop second she took all three down without mercy. I walked to their bodies and noticed that they were all dead. Then I looked into her eyes and saw a cold menacing blue like that of a sea that is in the middle of a storm and whose tides desire to push you to the depths to your drowning death. That girl… was the one that you know as Leona."

"Leona? But why did she kill those guys?"

"Because, Subaru, she doesn't care about others' lives. She has this lust for blood, and the more people she kills, the more powerful she thinks she is. Those men may not have been innocent, but that didn't mean that I could just allow someone as sick as her get away with it. I challenged her to a duel, and much to her surprise, I won."

_On a sunny day of March, at the outskirts of a futuristic city, a kaijudo duel was taking place. The dueling tables were just a few feet away from the bloody corpses of three muscular men. _

"_Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame, todomeda!" a shouted order resounded._

_The red and golden phoenix screeched and fired a fire ball from its swords that blew a sixteen year old Leona off her dueling table and had her land on the wet grass. A seventeen year old Blane, whose eyes had the gold color at the time, wiped his hands victoriously and packed up his cards. Afterwards he walked to the defeated girl that was looking at him with a changed sight in her eyes. Gone were the fierce predator glares, they were now replaced by stares of awe. _

"_Well, it seems like I'm done with you." Blane announced._

"_You… you have the power!" Leona exclaimed._

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You are stronger than me… You've defeated me, something that nobody has ever done before."_

"_I've defeated you, so what?"_

_All of a sudden, Leona got up and walked to Blane. Once she was face to face with him, the blonde girl fell on her knees in front of him and said:_

"_Please, master, teach me how to become strong like you. From this day on, I, Leona, am your disciple."_

The flashback ended as Blane took a deep sigh and stared at his feet while picturing Leona. His break hinted Subaru that some sad memory was about to be revealed and while his curiosity was making him ask Blane, he preferred to wait for him to get in the mood to reveal what it that bothered him was.

Back at the hospital room Hanna was up on her feet and dressing up in her clothes with Tsugumi discussing with her.

"So Tsugumi, how exactly did I get here? Last I remember I was up in the sky dueling with Kaizer on an invisible floor that he himself created." Hanna brought up.

"Oh, that. Well when Nolan saw that Kaizer had returned to his UFO with the map piece, he realized that something must have happened to you, so he immediately flew off with our UFO to the place where you were dueling. Once he saw you wounded, he rushed out and grabbed you. He told Tamma to pack your cards and bring them inside and then he personally took you here." Tsugumi explained.

"This Nolan boy did all that… for me?" Hanna asked while blushing.

"Yes he did, he seemed very concerned for you. While you were still unconscious he would constantly come here and ask me how you were doing." Tsugumi continued.

"Wow, that's so… nice of him?"

Hanna blushed heavily and sweated. She could not believe what the chosen light duelist was telling her. Did that boy that tagged along with the chosen duelists actually feel something for her? And why would he even care about her in the first place? She was nothing more than a wanderer with no real purpose in life.

"Tell Nolan… that I thank him for everything." Hanna said while walking towards the door.

"Hanna-san, where are you going to now?" Tsugumi asked.

"I don't know, Tsugumi-chan. Somewhere… where I can find out some answers regarding my life. But don't worry; I'll always be there to help you guys."

And with those words being said, Hanna disappeared into the corridor and then she opened the first door she found while the spaceship was still moving. Her hand glowed with a bright purple aura and then Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg appeared flying next to the UFO. The blue haired girl jumped on its back and off she was.

At Blane's room, after a few moments of silence and contemplating, Blane at last broke the silence and continued the story:

"Ever since then Leona and I had been traveling together. It seemed that she was a wanderer as well and that she had no real purpose. When I asked her why did she kill those men, she said because it was the only way she could prove her power. She was really weird, always preferring to stand alone in corners or on rooftops and watch the others as if she was a hunter seeking its prey. And whenever you would discuss with her, she would yammer on about power and how she hated the world, especially men."

"Men? Is there any reason behind her intense hatred towards men?" Subaru asked.

"Yes there is." Blane nodded. "Her brother was killed by his friends and they were all guys. Actually, it seems that this incident was what caused her to become a murderer. You see, she told me that at her brother's funeral his so-called friends came and prayed for his soul to forgive them and find its peace. She viewed them as hypocrites and confronted them. That was when she admitted that she had killing instincts and gave into her vengeful desire. Her kaijudo energy was so great that Codename Orewaleo materialized behind her in an instant and took down all of those guys with just an attack. Seeing their dead bodies, Leona felt joy and a huge confidence boost. With her brother dead, she decided that she had no home and thus her journey began."

"But why did those guys kill her brother?"

"I don't know, Subaru, she didn't tell me that up to this day. Anyway, we traveled together for almost a year, going from town to town, facing thugs, doing good deeds like saving people's lives. And whenever we had kaijudo duels, Leona did not kill her opponents. I taught her that it's important to control your anger."

"Even so, she doesn't look like she is controlling her anger now. Tsugumi told me that during their duel at the hot springs Leona almost killed her, had it not been for Luna's intervention."

"I'm getting there, just wait. During those months of traveling together, I managed to teach Leona good manners, how to help and respect others, and most importantly, make her care for others once again. She was a totally different person after spending six months with me. However… things did not stay that way for long. When the month of December came, the revolution came to our country. And you know very well what happened there."

"Huh? What revolution are you talking of, Blane?"

"The one that you and Tsugumi lead against your tyrannical father, Mutsuhito Geki, that was keeping our country under poverty and military rule. Hearing that the chosen light and darkness duelists are going up against the tyrant, I could not help myself but go and join the battle to aid you guys. That was my biggest mistake."

"How so?"

"Before leaving, I had Leona stay at a hotel in the city we were currently at and wait for me. It seems that while I was gone the rebels had reached that city and fought off the robotic guardians. Leona saw the bloody battle outside and it seems that that was what brought back her bloodlust. When I saw the Geki mansion burn and sink into the earth and you two coming out of there safely, I realized that my job there was done and returned to the hotel. What I found… shocked me beyond compare."

"What was it?"

"The hotel's lights were off, same for the electricity, and its halls were decorated with bleeding corpses. All of its inhabitants were dead: men, women, children, all innocent people. I was extremely worried and thought that Leona was one of the victims. I rushed to her room only to find her looking at the window with her face, dress and hands covered in blood. When she turned to look at me, her predator stare had returned. Her cold blue eyes froze me in an instant. I realized that the demon I saw in that spring had come back. She admitted killing all those people with excitement easily being read from her voice, and what was worse, she told me that she had wasted her time with me and that I was pulling her back from her quest for power instead of actually helping her become stronger."

"From the disappointed tone in your voice I realize that she broke your heart." Subaru noticed.

"Moving on, I challenged her to a kaijudo duel hoping to knock some sense into her once again. But this time things didn't go on as expected." Blane continued.

_It was a cold winter night. Inside the darkened room of a hotel a kaijudo duel was taking place. The tension and anger was easily felt in the closed air of the four walls. _

"_I summon Cocco Lupia! Vortex Evolution, Cocco Lupia and Bolshack NEX, evolve into Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame!" Blane shouted and a red and gold phoenix that was holding four long blades with its wings appeared behind him. "Go, Eternal Phoenix, break her last shields!"_

_The phoenix screeched so loud that the whole hotel shook and then using its blades it slashed off Leona's last two shields. However, the shields regenerated quickly and both cards shined with bright power as the girl laughed maniacally and made Blane sweat with fear for the first time since he knew her. Once her laugh was over, Leona turned to her opponent and showed both cards while saying:_

"_Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Bolshack Yamato Dragon back to his hand!"_

_A blue surfer riding a surfboard appeared out of nowhere, seared through the air and hit Blane's dragon dressed in red samurai armor and wielding a sword, making it disappear. _

"_Also, shield trigger, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and Codename Orewaleo into the battle zone!" Leona continued and both her blockers materialized behind her. "Go, Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!"_

_The blue surfer seared through the air once again and this time it went through the last rectangular blue shield that was protecting Blane, tearing it to pieces. Much towards the teen's shock, he got no shield trigger from it._

"_Hah, and to think that I once viewed you as a powerful person… Well, I now bid you farewell, 'master'." Leona mockingly declared. "Codename Orewaleo, todomeda!"_

_The golden armored angel with six white wings waved its hands and created a shiny green ball out of which it casted a laser upon the defenseless Blane. However, just when he thought that it was all over for him, Eternal Phoenix covered him with its protective fire wings that shielded him from Codename Orewaleo's attack. But just as everything has a price, Eternal Phoenix's wings had way too strong flames and before he knew it, Blane got his eyes burned and he yelled in pain. When the creatures disappeared, Blane was rolling on the floor screaming and covering his eyes with both hands. _

"_A fitting end for you, great 'hero'." Leona commented and then the girl calmly walked out of the hotel room._

"_Leona…" Blane growled._

The flashback ended as Blane continued narrating:

"EP's flames hurt my eyes really hard. I stood blind for a whole day and when I could finally open my eyes, I was relieved that I could still see, but they were still hurting me a lot. I walked to the first mirror I could find and there I saw what had happened to me. I paid the ultimate price for being gullible enough and thinking that someone like Leona could ever change."

"I can't blame you for trying." Subaru said and put his hand on Blane's shoulder. "You did your best and you shouldn't regret it. It was her choice to keep going on the path of power, but she will soon find out that it will ultimately lead to her own destruction."

"Thanks, Subaru, I needed that." Blane replied with a smile. "Anyway, ever since then I decided that I should keep my eyes on you guys and I spent the next year guarding you. So that's it, my full story. What are you going to do now that you know the whole truth?"

"Oh nothing, if you don't want the others to find out, it's fine by me. But still, why are you wearing those sunglasses, your eyes don't look awful."

"Are you kidding me, Subaru? Ever since then whenever I would walk somewhere without covering my eyes people would either be scared off by me or call me a freak. It went up to a point where I couldn't stand it anymore and thus I got the sunglasses. And trust me, it's better that way."

Blane got up from the bed and walked to the drawer. There his sunglasses were lying and he quickly took them and put them on, covering the shame that he had been carrying for a year.

"I guess I should be going now?" Subaru suggested and got up from his bed. "You seem to be busy, so I'll leave you alone."

"Wait, Subaru, there is something that I wanted to tell you!" Blane interrupted him.

"Huh? And what might that be?"

"Your deck… I was thinking that maybe you could update it."

"Update it? Do you have something in mind, Blane?"

"Yes, come back here in fifteen minutes. In the meantime, I'll dress up and gather the cards I was thinking of."

"Alright!" Subaru said and walked out of Blane's room.

Meanwhile Kaizer's UFO had gotten out of the Himalaya mountains and was now heading southwards. Inside it, while Shubham, Alwyn and Alien were celebrating their victory, Kaizer was sitting in a corner with the two map pieces united into one and was watching how Tabitha's ghost was using her magic to bring out the names on the second map piece and draw out the path to the third map piece. Once she was done, Kaizer saw that his next destination was in Mumbai, India.

Outside of the UFO, on the vehicle's roof, Leona was sitting on the cold metal and staring at the sunset while the words of a male resounded in her head:

"_We both have the power, so we hold the others' fates into our hands! It's time we showed them who is in charge!"_

The blonde girl sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Afterwards she whispered to herself:

"Don't worry, I will definitely show them who has the power!"


	24. Tamma's ambition

Later that night as the chosen duelist UFO was heading back to the city of our heroes making its way through the cloudy November sky, Subaru was walking down its corridors with his deck in his right hand and a bag filled with cards in his left hand.

"I wonder what Blane has in his mind." Subaru thought while taking a look at his deck. "Knowing him, it must be something crazy, but I'll somehow like it no matter what."

As he walked, Subaru passed young Tamma without noticing him. However, Tamma kept his eyes fixed on the black haired teen admiring his mysterious aura of darkness.

"So awesome…" Tamma whispered to himself.

Once Subaru reached Blane's room, its door opened and the boy disappeared from the corridor. That was when Tamma shook his head and woke up from his dreams.

"Who am I kidding? I'll never be as awesome as Subaru!" the boy spoke to himself and then he looked at his deck, specifically at the card that was on the top – Ogre Kaiser "Destruction". "Kasai… you were a great help in many of my duels, especially those against Alwyn. However… it seems like you don't live up to my standards anymore. And I don't live up to the standards of the chosen fire duelist… What am I thinking? I'll never be a second Rad, I'm not that awesome… And my deck is based on Humans, not Dragons. Oh well…"

Sighing with disappointment, Tamma headed back to his room and closed the door shut. The boy looked around and saw his martial arts champions posters, his training equipment, his cards that were spread all over the room just like Blane's, and the things that once belonged to the ex-chosen fire duelist Rad which he kept intact: the rocket molds and toys, posters with racers, racing trophies and even more fire cards. Their stuff was mixed that if you did not know who the two were, you'd think they belonged to the same person.

The red haired ten year old stretched his arms and threw himself on the bed. However, he could fall asleep. All he did was to stare at the ceiling and from time to time take out his Ogre Kaiser "Destruction" card and analyze it.

Meanwhile at Blane's room, Subaru and Blane were both sitting at a desk which was filled with both their cards trying to rebuild the chosen darkness duelist's deck from scratch.

"So what was your idea, Blane? How do you suggest that I improve my deck?" Subaru asked.

"Easy, concentrating on this guy!" Blane replied and showed Subaru a darkness creature card with the cost of 7 and the power of 8000. "I bring you Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

"Uh, dude, I've seen this guy before… I even had him in my deck for a while."

"Yes, but have you ever abused it in marvelous ways?"

"Er… no?"

"Then you shall from now on!" Blane continued and then he put a 5 cost darkness spell right next to the Zero Romanoff card. "This is another card that you know well and use – Miracle Re Born! With its effect you manage to revive a Hunter that costs 7 or less. So I was thinking that maybe you could use it in combo with Zero Romanoff to spam Hunters in the battle zone. That way you could build a deck that has 'Romanoff Reborn' as theme."

"Romanoff Reborn, huh?" Subaru said while taking both Zero Romanoff and Miracle Re Born and looking at them. "It could work, I guess, but we'll have to find some strong support for this combo."

"And this is where the fun part begins!"

Back at Tamma's room, the red haired child still could not manage to sleep, so he was now kicking a training punching bag trying to get his mind off the demons that were haunting him. However, as he was releasing his energy upon the leather bag, he was remembering important events that happened in his life.

_On a sunny summer day, a small rocket stopped in front of a martial arts training building and a red haired woman dressed in a dark green dress and wearing dark purple high heels came out of it holding the hand of a six year old Tamma who was dressed in a small kimono that fitted him. _

"_Alright, son, this is your first day of martial arts training!" the woman said excitedly, trying to make Tamma enthusiastic as well._

"_I don't wanna go! I wanna stay home!" little Tamma complained._

"_Oh no you won't, young man! You're going to go there and learn martial arts, and you're going to like it! Now let's go!"_

_Usually Tamma would've thrown a temper tantrum but the angered accent in his mother's voice made him realize that he would not be able to persuade her, so he decided to conform and do what his mother wished him to do. The little boy laid his head down staring at the ground and walked with his mother inside the building._

Once the flashback ended, Tamma hit the bag so hard that he tore a hole through it.

In the meantime at Blane's room, the two teens were working their brains hard with how to make a good Romanoff Reborn deck for Subaru. They had already included Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff along with Miracle Re Born, Inferno Sign and Hades Death Gate as support spells.

"In order for the combo to work, you will need cards in your graveyard. For that you will need Bone Dance Charger." Blane said and put three copies of Bone Dance Charger next to the other darkness spells. "With it not only will you get cards in your graveyard, but you will also increase your mana and you will be able to cast Miracle Re Born the turn after you casted Bone Dance Charger. Also, maybe you should consider adding Primal Scream."

"Nah, I was thinking on adding water once again to my deck and use the good old draw and discard strategy!" Subaru replied and then he put a pair of water cards at the right of the darkness spells. "Emergency Typhoon should handle the situation pretty nice! Same could be said about Deepsea Typhoon. As for Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist… no, I don't think I'll use it."

"Huh? Why not, Subaru? It's a great card!"

"I know it is… but my friend Atsuto is now dead. It would bring me bad memories if …"

"What do you mean that I'm dead?!" a voice suddenly came out from one of the Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist cards.

At the hearing of that voice filled with dulcet tones, both Subaru and Blane screamed in shock and jumped off their chairs.

"Wh-who said that?" Blane asked sweating.

"Who else other than the fabulous me?" the same voice kept on speaking and then a black haired teen dressed in a dark blue suit with a red and black cape, who was holding a lollipop in his left hand and a rose in his right hand appeared on Subaru's shoulder as a hologram. "Missed me, old buddy?"

"ATSUTO!" both Subaru and Blane yelled as if they had seen a ghost.

While the two teens had apparently been reunited with their Duel Hero friend, Tamma was pumping irons in his room even if his small arms seemed to not be able to lift the heavy weights. While performing that action, the boy was remembering more events from his past.

_During one of the training classes at the martial arts center, a nine year old Tamma was thrown against the wall by his opponent, a blonde boy with blue eyes that was of his age and was wearing a black kimono in contrast to his white kimono. _

"_Heh, you're a piece of cake!" his opponent laughed. "Master, I don't wanna waste more time with this joker, give me the belt already!"_

"_Patience, Kei, your opponent hasn't been fully defeated. Tamma-kun still has some strength left in him." said a tall bald man dressed in a white kimono with black belt that was standing barefoot in the middle of the fighting arena while all of his other students were wearing sandals._

"_Grr… take this!" Tamma shouted and ran to Kei._

_The boy simply dodged Tamma's fist attack and then with a simple move of his arm he hit the red haired boy's back and caused him to fall on the floor and land on his belly. Then Kei put his foot on Tamma's head and raised both his fists in the air victoriously._

"_And the winner is Kei!" the master declared and the other children in the room cheered._

_After all the children left the room, the master approached the wounded Tamma who was still lying defeated on the floor. The man leaned down and helped the boy get up. _

"_Are you alright, Tamma?" the master asked._

"_I quit!" Tamma sobbed. "Martial arts just aren't for me! I'm just doing it because my mom wants me to follow the family tradition, but I don't like them and I'm not even good at them!"_

_Before the master could react, Tamma ran out of the room leaving a trail of tears behind him. The master stared with a disappointed look on his face at the saddened child that was running away._

As the flashback ended, Tamma gently put the weights back at their belonging place and afterwards he walked to the bed and began to angrily hit it with both fists causing his deck to fall, the cards composing it spreading on the floor.

Returning to Blane's room, the chosen darkness duelist and his 'guardian angel' were still shocked of the sudden appearance of the Duel Hero Strategist.

"A-A-A-Atsuto…" Subaru stuttered.

"The one and only!" the holographic Atsuto proudly responded.

"But how? You were destroyed! I personally saw you fall into the lava!"

"Yes, you're right, Subaru, my body was indeed destroyed. However, since Tabitha's curse bound me to this card, my spirit got tied to the creature realm and ever since I had been wandering in the Darkness and the Water civilizations. Fabulous, isn't it?"

"So this means… that you're back?"

"If you want, I could join Raion in being your deck avatar and this way I'll never leave you!" Atsuto suggested with a smile that revealed his still shiny teeth.

"I missed you too, pal!" Subaru replied with a happy voice.

"Ahem, I hate to disturb your touching moment, but shall we continue?" Blane said.

"Alright, I'll be here when you'll ever need me." Atsuto announced Subaru and afterwards he jumped back into the Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist card.

And so the two teens returned to their brainstorming. For a while it was silence, but then an idea came to Blane and he quickly broke the silence by saying:

"Zero Romanoff's important effect is the one that is triggered when he attacks, right?"

"Yes, you're right." Subaru said.

"But the problem is the fact that he has summoning sickness and thus he is rendered weak in front of things like Magic Shot – Arcadia Egg, Death Chaser or Hades Death Gate." Blane continued.

"Indeed, but that can be prevented in one way…"

"Exactly, by making him a speed attacker! And I just so happen to have some cards that will help our friend Zero Romanoff become a speed attacker."

Blane looked through his pile of fire cards and then he took out two pairs of cards in both of his hands and showed them to Subaru. Those from his left hand were 3 mana 3000 powered creatures that resembled birds made of fire.

"Super Go On Pippi is a Fire Bird/Hunter that makes all of your creatures with Dragon and Hunter in their race speed attackers." Blane said. "And guess what races does Zero Romanoff have…"

"Dark Lord, Zombie Dragon and Hunter." Subaru replied with a sly grin on his face.

"Also, check these out!" Blane continued and then he showed Subaru fire cards that had the cost of 1 and had strange castle like shapes in which the image that represented the card was drawn. "These are Fortresses."

"I know what Fortresses are."

"Good to know. Anyway, they go by the name of Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress. While your shield is being fortified with Galaxy Falcon, all of your Hunters gain speed attacker! So while Super Go On Pippi made only your Dragon Hunters become speed attackers, this little beauty makes all, and I mean ALL of your Hunters speed attackers! What more could you want?"

"You do have a point, Blane."

Meanwhile at Tamma's room, as the boy was crying on his bed, he was once again involuntarily remembering scenes that happened in the past.

_One day little Tamma was called into the master's office. Fearing that he had done something wrong and that his mother would find out and punish him, Tamma shyly entered the office room and closed the door behind him. The room's walls were decorated with medals from martial arts championships. A TV was hung in the upper eastern corner of the room and a desk was lying near the northern wall. At that desk the master was sitting and it seemed that he was waiting for the red haired child all the time._

"_Welcome into my humble office, Tamma." the master greeted him._

"_Wow, this place is awesome!" Tamma exclaimed while admiring the medals._

"_I am glad that you like it, make yourself at home."_

_At the hearing of those words, Tamma quickly grabbed a chair and dragged it to the desk. Once he sat on it, he got face to face with the master._

"_I have called you here today because I was wishing to discuss about your future." the master said._

"_My future? What do you mean?" Tamma curiously asked._

"_Here, let me show you something."_

_The master got up from his and reached his hand into his kimono's pocket, taking out a red card. _

"_Rise, Kasai!" the master called out._

_The card glowed with a bright red light and then a metallic red dragon with blue laser wings and five long golden horns on its head appeared in front of Tamma as a hologram._

"_W-w-what is that thing?!" Tamma asked scared._

"_This, my dear student, is a creature from another world. It goes by the name Ogre Kaiser "Destruction", but I have given it the name Kasai which means Fire in Japanese." the master explained._

"_But how…"_

"_You see, Tamma, the world is not the one we thought we knew. Somewhere in this great big universe there is a planet that is split in five realms and which is inhabited by creatures with unimaginable power. Somehow we humans have managed to make contact with them and part of us are now able to summon these fantastic creatures into our world through the power of a card game that is known as Duel Masters." _

"_Duel… Masters?"_

"_Yes. You see, Tamma, it takes a certain amount of concentration and training to be able to summon creatures the way I do, so basically this game also involves the tough training that you have to endure here. However, once you learn how to play it, how to use the cards and reach your inner kaijudo energy, you will be able to summon creatures as well!"_

"_But why are you telling me all of this, master?"_

"_I'm telling you this because after I've seen you cry about how martial arts are not your thing and so, I realized that maybe there is another path that you should follow. A friend of mine runs this school that aims at training the youth into becoming the next generation of kaijudo duelists. What would you say if I talked to him and signed you up for that school next year?"_

"_That would be awesome, sensei!"_

"_But in order to do that you have to promise me that you will train hard here for this year and that you will become better at martial arts!" _

"_Alright, you've got a deal!" Tamma said and clenched his fist, the enthusiasm being easily read from his smile and eyes._

"_I'm happy to hear this. Until then, here, you can have Kasai as your first card." the master said and handed Tamma his Ogre Kaiser "Destruction" card._

"_Awesome, thank you so much, sensei!"_

"Tamma! Tamma!" some otherworldly shouts woke Tamma up from his dream.

The red haired kid looked around and saw that his Ogre Kaiser "Destruction" card was shining with the same bright red light from his dream.

"Kasai, is that you?" Tamma asked.

"Yes, you said that I am not fitting for your deck, right? In that case, let me become fitting!" a voice came out of the card.

All of a sudden a red beam was cast out of it and it scanned all of the other cards from Tamma's deck. When the process was finished, the card began to morph into something else. As the red light faded away, Tamma saw that his Ogre Kaiser card had turned into a 6 cost 13000 powered evolution creature that went by the name Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion".

"You've become a creature that evolves from Humans. And your effect works great in a Human deck. Kasai, thank you so much!" Tamma happily exclaimed.

"Anything for my master." the creature replied from the card. "Now that I have prepared myself, do you think that you are now ready to fight?"

"Yes, at first I've had doubts of myself, but looking back at sensei's words I've realized that if I want to become like Subaru and Rad I will have to train even harder and never give up!"

"Now that is the Tamma that I know!"

Back at Blane's room, the chosen darkness duelist and his 'guardian angel' were now making the finishing touches to the deck.

"Alright, we've got Zero Romanoff, we've got the reviving spells, we've got the graveyard suppliers, and we've got the cards that make him a speed attacker. Now the last things we need are some good Hunters to revive." Blane stated.

"Thunder Blade and Liger Blade are definite musts!" Subaru said while putting both mentioned creatures right next to Zero Romanoff. "Also, for the sake of it, I'll add Edo-kun's Aqua Naruto Surfer! Hm, anything else?"

"This baby!"

Blane then pulled out a fire creature that costed 7 mana and had 7000+ power.

"Its name is Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon and its effect is that in untaps after the first time it is tapped. This means that not only it is saved from spells such as Super Spark, but it also can attack twice per turn. And to top it off, it's a double breaker and it has the Hunting ability!"

"And with things like Super Go On Pippi and Galaxy Falcon, this guy will become a speed attacker and do lots of damage!" Subaru excitedly said and watched how Blane put the mentioned card right next to the other 7 cost Hunters. "Now there is still room for four more cards. I guess I'll throw in some Aqua Surfers and my trademark creature – Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons."

After five minutes, Subaru walked out of Blane's room with a brand new deck in his hands. The brown haired teen also came out and said:

"You've got an awesome deck, dude! Get ready to kick some butt!"

"Thanks for the help, Blane, I really appreciate it!" Subaru spoke gratefully.

"Haha, no worries, I'm always happy to help out!" Blane said pridefully.

"Oh, and one more thing, dude, don't let others judge you for who you are. There's no need for you to hide behind those glasses, be yourself, no matter what!"

With those words being said Subaru walked off, leaving Blane stunned. The teenage boy reached his hand to his face and took off his sunglasses. Afterwards he looked at his reflection in the window and saw his wounded dual colored eyes.

"Don't let other judge me for who I am…" Blane murmured.


	25. When Devils Cry

Night had fallen upon the great futuristic city of Mumbai. There was an hour left until the clocks would announce the midnight. Most of its citizens were safely in their homes preparing to rest, but little did anyone know that their city would soon become the battlefield of the eternal struggle between good and evil.

At the outskirts of the city, the UFO of the chosen duelists discretely landed in a place where it could not be detected. Its main door opened and the five chosen duelists all walked out of it. Nolan and Blane stood at its entrance and waved them good bye, wishing them good luck.

The quintet entered the city and admired its tall and imposing buildings while walking down the streets. Even if the city didn't have any cyber streets yet, its powerful streetlights and its beautifully build constructions had paid for it. It seemed as if they were in an exotic Paris.

"This place is outstanding…" Tsugumi spoke amazed.

"It's truly fascinating indeed." Luna added and then the blue haired girl took out her camera to take some photos.

"Luna, photo me! Photo me!" Tamma shouted and kept jumping in the camera's view.

"Tamma, back off, I'm trying to catch the beauty of the city!"

"Stop arguing you two, we've got a mission here!" Tiger interrupted Tamma and Luna. "While you're wasting time, Kaizer is probably already one step ahead of us!"

"As much as I hate to say it, he's right." Subaru added.

All of a sudden, Tsugumi's cell phone rang. The blonde girl reached her hand in her red dress' pocket and took out the device. Once she opened it, the image of Shubham appeared on it.

"Alright, we are in Mumbai. Where is Kaizer?" Tsugumi asked.

"Kaizer is heading to the famous Mumbai museum from the center of the city. That is where the third map piece is lying." Shubham explained. "I will send you the map that will lead you to that place quickly, but on one condition."

"And why should we trust you? You're working for Kaizer anyway!" Tiger brought up.

"Heh, don't worry, I've gotten bored of Kaizer and his goons and thought that I could make things interesting by foiling his plans a little. So what do you say? Are you going to accept my terms or not?"

"Doesn't look like we really have a choice…" Tsugumi pointed out. "Alright, what do you want in exchange for that map?"

"I want Subaru!" Shubham straightly answered.

"Huh? Me?" Subaru asked with surprise.

"Yes, I want Subaru to come to the Cathedral of the Holy Name! It's an old abandoned Catholic cathedral located a few streets away from the place you are at. He should be able to find it easily. I want Subaru to come alone. Once he is there, I will send you the map. Those are my conditions."

"But what do you have to share with Subaru?" Tsugumi asked.

"Let's just say that we've got some unsolved business to finish." Shubham replied with a grin on his face.

"Don't worry, if it's what will help us bring Kaizer down, I'll do it!" Subaru said and began to walk all by himself in the direction of a large cathedral that could be easily seen in the horizon.

"Just be careful!" Tsugumi shouted at him.

"Don't worry, he will." Tiger said to the worried girl.

After a fifteen minute walk, Subaru had finally reached it – an enormous structure with two towers in the front whose roofs had triangular forms. However, it seemed that the cathedral was abandoned for several years, as its windows were broken and there were no lights. The chosen darkness duelist made the first step inside the church and all of a sudden he felt a strange cold breeze that brought chills down his spine. It seemed as if he was about to enter not a place of the divinity, but one of its enemy. Gathering up all his courage, Subaru made the second step inside the dark building and saw that there was no danger… for the time being.

The black haired teen walked down the nave and headed to the altar while looking around. He saw benches that were covered by dust; statues of saints on which spiders had laid their webs, paintings whose colors had faded due to the passing of time. But the strangest thing to him was the fact that there were candles burning near the altar and there was choir music playing inside the building.

"So, you've come at last." a familiar voice spoke.

Subaru turned his head to the altar and saw Shubham sitting at its opened doors with a cell phone in his hands. The teenager dressed in red jacket pressed some buttons on the phone and then he turned to his guest and said:

"Alright, I have sent the map to your friends as promised. Now it's just you and me!"

"What do you want from me, Shubham?" Subaru demanded.

"I thought you already knew, Subaru. I want our conflict to finish! Tonight we shall see who the true victor is in the conflict between Hunters and Aliens!" Shubham declared and all of a sudden a lightning struck outside of the cathedral which was quickly followed by a loud thunder.

"You're sick… The conflict had long finished, Shubham! The Aliens and Hunters now live in peace!"

"Don't fool yourself, Subaru; you and I both know that the two sides will not rest until one true winner is revealed!"

Shubham put his cell phone back in his pocket and then out of the same pocket he pulled out his deck which glowed with a purple aura.

"And trust me, that winner will not be you!" Shubham continued with a maniacal grin on his face.

"Shubham, listen, there's no need for us to fight anymore; the war in the creature world is over! Please, stop this madness and join us!" Subaru insisted.

"Never! I've sacrificed everything just for us to battle – my home, my 'friends' and my allegiance to Kaizer! And I won't let you ruin my plans, Subaru Geki! Our battle will take place and only one shall come out of it alive!"

Once again a lightning struck outside. But this time it was followed by the repeated sounds of water touching the ground. It was raining.

Looking at the determined grin on his face, Subaru realized that there was no way he could convince Shubham to give up his intentions to battle. Sighing, the chosen darkness duelist took his deck out of the pockets of his jeans and showed it to his opponent. The deck glowed with a similar purple aura.

Two dueling tables made of stone rose from the floor in front of the two duelists. Both put their decks on them, set five shields and drew five cards.

"Let's do this! DUEL START!" Shubham shouted and then ten rectangular blue shields appeared in front of them, five for each.

Subaru was the first to charge mana and he did by putting Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist tapped in his mana zone. Shubham then put Super Infernal Gate Smash in his mana zone tapped as well. Then Subaru's turn came once again. He drew a card and put Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack fortress into his mana zone. Afterwards he tapped both mana cards and put a water card into his battle zone while saying:

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon! With its effect I draw a card and discard Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff."

A black turtle with blue spikes on its back appeared behind Subaru as he drew a card and then let his Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card fall from his hand into his graveyard.

"Heh, my turn, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow!" Shubham said and a red and blue cat appeared behind him. "With its effect I draw a card."

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Subaru said and then the top two cards of his deck went to his graveyard.

The two cards were Aqua Surfer and Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger. After that, Subaru put the Bone Dance Charger card into his mana zone and ended his turn.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll! With its effect you'll have to choose a card in your hand and discard it." Shubham said and watched how Subaru put Aqua Naruto Surfer into his graveyard.

"My turn, I charge mana and cast another Bone Dance Charger!" Subaru said and then the cards that fell into his graveyard were Super Go On Pippi and Hades Death Gate. "I put Bone Dance Charger into my mana zone and end."

"Heh, already handless? Too bad, and that six mana that you've gotten so far won't help you either! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top three cards from Shubham's deck were Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. All three were darkness cards and all went into his hand.

The situation was indeed pretty bad for Subaru. He had no more cards in his hand, whereas Shubham had managed to replenish his. Now the chosen darkness duelist was depending on his draw. And sadly for him, the next card he drew wasn't helping him at all. Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon had a cost of 7, whereas he had 6 mana. Disappointed, the black haired chosen duelist put it in his mana zone and ended his turn.

"Hehehe, this is going on so nicely!" Shubham commented. "My turn, I summon Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General! With its effect I destroy Zabi Barrel and your Deepsea Typhoon! Now go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shields!"

The two creatures' attacks were so powerful that the shield shards flew behind Subaru and scarred a statue of Saint Peter. They also destroyed the legs of a statue of Holy Mary, making the sculpture fall from its place onto the floor and break into hundreds of pieces. Hearing the sound of the statue colliding with the floor, Subaru got even more scared. It seemed that the place in which he was battling had lost its sacredness and he feared that he was about to suffer the same fate.

Two cards appeared in Subaru's hand and at the sight of them the chosen duelist smiled. He turned to his opponent and showed both while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Zabi Olzekia!"

A black gate appeared above Subaru and opened its doors revealing black tentacles that came out and grabbed Shubham's demonic alien, devouring it. Afterwards the tentacles retreated and a bird of fire with sunglasses on its forehead flew out.

"Then I revive Super Go On Pippi! Also, shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Subaru continued and then a red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind him and roared at Shubham.

The power of Zero Romanoff was so strong that it made both dueling tables fly in the air. The darkness Hunter aimed its guns at the ceiling and blasted a hole into it. Then the dueling tables got out of the cathedral and landed on its roof along with the duelists that were holding onto them and the creatures. All of a sudden, the rain stopped, almost as if nature was siding with Shubham's wishes to finish the long conflict between the Aliens and the Hunters.

"And now with Zero Romanoff's effect I'll put another Zero Romanoff into my graveyard!" Subaru said and the cards from his deck floated in the air one by one making way for a Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card that fell into the graveyard. "My turn, I charge mana and attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! With its effect I cast Inferno Sign from my graveyard and put a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the battle zone from my graveyard! With its effect I put a Miracle Re Born from my deck to my graveyard. Now go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The knight aimed both its guns at Shubham and fired lasers from them, the beams taking down both of his shields. However, the shields quickly united into two cards which he took into his hand and all of a sudden he started laughing maniacally.

"HAHAHAHAHA, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT STUPID COMBO CAN STOP ME, SUBARU GEKI?!" Shubham laughed. "Well, let me prove you wrong! Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, DESTROY ZERO ROMANOFF!"

Two demonic black hands appeared out of the clouds and grabbed Subaru's second Zero Romanoff, crushing the creature.

"Also, shield trigger, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper, DESTROY SUPER GO ON PIPPI!" Shubham continued and a red metallic scrapped appeared and crushed the small little fire bird into it.

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Hehehehehe, oh yes, you're soon finished, Subaru Geki! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier into the battle zone! With its effect I destroy Zero Romanoff!"

A horned demon dressed in a golden armor, wielding two blue scythes, each with two blades, and riding a horned skeletal horse appeared in the battle zone and slashed Subaru's knight, making it explode in front of its owner's eyes.

"Now go, Cebu Aquman Jr and Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shields!" Shubham ordered and the two creatures jumped at Subaru and took down two more of his shields.

Their attacks were even stronger than the last time, as they forced Subaru and his dueling table to fall off the roof of the cathedral. Luckily, both had a safe landing on the street, but the broken shield shards hit Subaru and cut both his left hip and right cheek, causing blood to fall out of them. Also, a smaller but sharper shard cut the red headband that he was wearing, letting the wind take it and making Subaru's spiky hair fall back on his scalp and the back of his neck.

"Tamma…" Subaru murmured as he saw the headband disappear in the sky like a kite. "I am sorry…"

As Black Ganveet descended from the cathedral's roof with Shubham and his dueling table in its arms, Subaru stood in front of his dueling table staring at the wet ground and not showing any facial expression whatsoever.

"HAHAHAHAHA, DO YOU FEEL IT, SUBARU GEKI?! THIS IS THE POWER OF THE ALIENS, THE POWER THAT HAD CRUSHED THE HUNTERS, AND THAT WILL CRUSH YOU!" Shubham laughed uncontrollably.

However, Subaru still did not respond. Once Black Ganveet landed on the street and put Shubham and his dueling table on it as well, Shubham felt a strange energy coming from Subaru.

"Huh? What's happening?" Shubham asked.

All of a sudden, the wind started blowing through Subaru's hair, making his black mane change its shape. Something was happening with the duelist. He felt strange. He could feel his own heartbeats intensely. And all of a sudden, he could also feel that heartbeats and the pumping blood of Shubham and his own creatures. Then he could also hear screams of agony in his ears. The chosen darkness duelist closed his eyes and turned his head to his opponent. Once Subaru opened his eyes, Shubham saw that they were red as the fires of hell. Also, their stare had changed, gone was the warm sight of the brown eyes, now all that was replaced by the glare of a bloodthirsty fiend.

"This is not over yet…" Subaru said with a cold menacing voice.

Subaru's right hand glowed with a purple aura similar to that of his deck as he drew his next card. Seven cards in his mana zone tapped themselves as he showed the card to his opponent and said:

"I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V appeared in the battle zone and immediately slashed Shubham's Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Black Ganveet, sending both creatures to oblivion.

"Then I summon Deepsea Typhoon and end my turn." Subaru concluded.

Shubham was amazed of his opponent. Just a few moments ago he was a weakling that wanted peace, but in just a swoop second he had morphed into a blood thirsty demon. Grinning, Shubham excitedly spoke to his Subaru:

"So you've decided to show me your dark side, eh? Great! Now the battle can truly begin! But beware, Subaru Geki, for I won't hold anything back! And tonight will be the night when devils cry!"

"I don't care, all that I want is to see your blood spilled, you bastard!" Subaru cruelly replied.

"My blood spilled? Heh, not in a million years!" Shubham declared and then he placed a darkness card on the remaining water card on his battle zone. "Cebu Aquman Jr, evolve into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons!"

The small little baby alien got surrounded by a purple aura and grew into a giant demonic black alien that had three mouths, one on his chest and two for hands.

"With Zabi Implosion's effect I put Gallows Cebu Kaiser into the battle zone!" Shubham continued and a blue robotic alien with a mouth with sharp teeth on its chest, two mouths with sharp teeth on its hips and two mouths with sharp teeth on its back joined Zabi Implosion. "GO, ZABI IMPLOSION, BREAK HIS FINAL SHIELD!"

The demonic alien roared and fired three lasers from all its mouths, the attack tearing down Subaru's last shield. The black haired teenager smiled at the attack and stood there as the shield shards hit him. However, this time he did not get any cuts. Once the attack was over and the shield shards regenerated into a card that went into his hand, Subaru triumphantly spoke to his opponent:

"Thanks for giving me the card that will mark your destruction!"

"What?!" Shubham asked while sweating with fear. "What could he possibly have gotten?"

Suddenly, Subaru's hand glowed with an even brighter purple aura as the ten mana cards tapped themselves and he placed the card he had received from his shields unto the only water card in his battle zone while saying:

"Evolution! Deepsea Typhoon, become… BALLOM HUNTER, LORD OF DEMONS!"

The turtle howled and cracked open, revealing a strong purple light out of which rose a grey demon with red wings, a white X mark on its chest, a black goat head with yellow eyes that was wielding a sword in its left hand.

"Ballom… Hunter…" Shubham spoke with shock while staring at the mighty demon.

"DESTROY ALL OF HIS CREATURES, BALLOM HUNTER!" Subaru yelled.

Ballom Hunter fired a darkness beam from its right hand that engulfed both Zabi Implosion and Gallows Cebu Kaiser and killed both Aliens.

"BALLOM HUNTER, BREAK HIS SHIELDS!" Subaru ordered and the demon flew towards Shubham and slashed his last three shields with its sword.

The attack was so powerful that it pushed Shubham and his cards away and had him land a few meters away. Victoriously, Subaru put his hand on the Liger Blade card and said:

"Now Raion, give him the finishing blow! Todome…"

However, Subaru felt a strange heat and looked around to see that all of the buildings around him were on fire. The energies unleashed during their kaijudo duel were so strong that they had affected the city. But they didn't care. They were so caught up in the madness of their duel and their pleasure to destroy that they had both forgotten about the innocent lives of those surrounding them.

"What have I done?" Subaru murmured.

A few minutes after the duel ended, Subaru slowly walked to the defeated Shubham that was lying on the street with his cards on him and laughing. When Subaru approached him, Shubham gave him his usual evil grin and told him:

"See? We are no different than one another! We both love destruction, and tonight we have proven it! And it seems that the Hunters have won… for now."

However, in the next moment Shubham felt something wet his cheek. When he looked up, he saw a trail of tears falling from Subaru's eyes that were still red.

"Yes, you were right, Shubham. Tonight really is the night when us devils cry…" Subaru said with a grieved voice, surprised of the monster he had become.


	26. The Fall of Angels

While Subaru and Shubham were having their match, the other four chosen duelists were on their way to the museum of Mumbai where the next map piece was lying. They were racing against their enemies, and time was not on their side.

"Oh man, no matter how soon we get there, we will still be late!" Tiger pessimistically said.

"Do you always have to see the bright side in things?" Tamma ironically asked.

"Kaizer might already be in the possession of the map piece. If only that darn Shubham would've given us the map earlier!"

"We don't have time for regrets, Tiger. Let's just get to the museum and finish the job!" Luna said.

"Look, guys! The museum is there!" Tsugumi exclaimed and pointed in the horizon to a large dome.

But just when the other three chosen duelists had set their eyes on it, the museum suddenly blew up towards everyone's shock. The giant dome that held the history of India in it had become a raging inferno.

When the chosen duelists finally arrived at the burning museum, they saw Kaizer come out of the flames with the map piece in his left hand and his minions: Leona, Alwyn and Alien behind him.

"Well, well, lookie, lookie who we have here!" Leona said.

"It's the chosen duelists, la!" Alwyn added.

"But how did they get here?" Alien asked Kaizer.

"Let's just say that a birdy whispered something to our ears." Tiger countered.

Kaizer then turned to his minions and saw that there were only three of them.

"Shubham…" Kaizer said with a low growled voice.

"That traitor!" Leona burst out.

"Shubham is a big fat stupid traitor, ah!" Alwyn exclaimed with the same frustration as Leona's.

Kaizer turned back to the chosen duelists to see that the four were blocking their way.

"Sorry, Kaizer, but you're not leaving this place with that map!" Tiger declared.

Before anyone could react, Tamma jumped in the air and made a kung fu move on Kaizer, pushing his helmet off with his bare foot. Kaizer's helmet landed on the ground much to everyone's surprise. Tamma jumped at the armor and grabbed its spikes with his hand. The red haired boy then looked inside it while saying:

"Alright, let's see who you really are!"

However, all that Tamma saw inside the armor was darkness and nothingness. Upon seeing that, Tamma widened his eyes and ran off to his team while saying with fear:

"It's nothing!"

"What do you mean by nothing?" Luna asked.

"There's nothing in there! The armor is empty!" Tamma shouted scared.

The armor walked by itself and picked up the horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull putting it back on its place and having the small red circles appear in the place where the eyes were supposed to be.

"How funny that you actually believed I was human." Kaizer said.

"Then what the hell are you?!" Tiger asked.

"I am your destruction! I am Kaizer!" Kaizer declared and made the six purple spheres appear around him. "So far I have used four of my decks. It is time to take out the fifth one!"

Kaizer reached his hand and grabbed one of the spheres, turning it into a deck. Afterwards he made the others disappear.

"Chosen duelists, I challenge you to a duel!" Kaizer said with a high pitched voice that scared those around him.

"You're going down, armor guy!" Tiger replied and took out his deck, but then Tsugumi put her hand on his shoulder.

"Leave him, he's mine!" the blonde girl said and showed her deck. "I've been eagerly waiting for a rematch!"

"However, kitty cat, you still have me!" Leona added and approached Tiger. "Are you ready to have the Lioness smack your behind once again?"

"Tsh, let's do this!" Tiger said and his deck glowed with a bright green aura.

Eight dueling tables rose from the ground and the duelists sat at them and set their cards. That was it; the matches that would decide the fate of the map piece had begun. It was Tiger VS Leona, Tamma VS Alwyn, Luna VS Alien, and most importantly: Tsugumi VS Kaizer.

Tsugumi tapped DNA Spark and Pudding Pudding, the Eternal in her mana zone and showed a nature spell to her opponent while saying:

"I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to my mana zone!"

The card shined with a green light and the top card of Tsugumi's deck bounced off it and landed on the mana zone, revealing that it was Gaga Crouton, the Prophet. Then Kaizer tapped Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Reckless Cut Scrapper in his mana zone and showed a nature creature to Tsugumi while saying:

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it to put the top card of my deck to my mana zone."

A small little green haired faerie dressed in a dark orange dress with an orange hat on her head and a scarf covering her face appeared behind Kaizer and blew up while the top card of his deck bounced off it and landed into his mana zone, revealing that it was Jenny, the Suicide Doll.

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe!" Tsugumi said and a white haired red caped horse like warrior wielding a club appeared behind the girl as the top card of her deck – Heaven's Gate – fell into her mana zone.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!" Kaizer said and a green horse like warrior wielding a shield and a shovel appeared behind him, making the top card of his deck which was Dimension Splitter land into his mana zone. "Then I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it!"

This time the card that landed in Kaizer's mana zone was Terror Pit.

"Already six mana… He's trying to get something big out, there's no doubt in that. But what could it be?" Tsugumi thought while looking at Kaizer's table.

"It's your turn, chosen light duelist." Kaizer announced her.

"Alright then, I summon Silver Shovel and send it and your Bronze-Arm Tribe to our mana zones! After that I also summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card! Go, Iron Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

The horse like warrior ran towards Kaizer, jumped in the air and broke one of his shields with its club. However, once the shield shards united into a card, that card glew with a bright red light. Kaizer tapped seven mana cards and showed it to his opponent while saying:

"It's time to get serious! I summon Codename Bazagaze Ragon!"

A red armored dragon wielding a sharp metallic gun in its left hand and a sword combined with a chainsaw in its right hand appeared behind Kaizer and roared at Tsugumi.

"Codename Bazagaze Ragon is a speed attacker that can attack untapped creatures in the turn it enters the battle zone!" Kaizer said while tapping the card. "Go, Codename Bazagaze Ragon, take down Gaga Pikarian!"

"Not good!" Tsugumi thought while seeing her light card bounce off the battle zone and land in her graveyard.

"And now I end."

The blonde girl got worried at the sight of the powerful creature, whereas she still had little ones. However, as she drew her next card, she sighed with relief.

"Alright, Tenshi, let's do this!" Tsugumi whispered to the card and then she tapped her seven mana cards and showed it to her opponent. "I summon Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory!"

A robotic red creature with the body of a woman at its core wielding a golden sword appeared behind Tsugumi. The chosen light duelist then tapped her other card and said:

"Iron Arm Tribe, break another shield!"

The horse like warrior repeated its attack and took down yet another shield of Kaizer's, leaving him with three. However, that didn't intimidate the villain one bit. He simply drew his next card, set mana and showed two cards to his opponent while saying:

"I summon Silver Shovel and Messa Danjiri Dragon! With Silver Shovel's effect I send Silver Shovel to my mana zone."

"I send Iron Arm Tribe to mine." Tsugumi said while putting the nature creature into her mana zone.

"Codename Bazagaze Ragon, double break her shields!" Kaizer ordered and the red armored dragon used its chainsaw sword to slash out two of Tsugumi's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Faerie Life!" Tsugumi said and the top card of her deck which was Falconer, Lightfang Ninja landed in her mana zone. "This isn't over yet, Kaizer!"

The girl immediately tapped her mana and then she showed a light card to her opponent while saying:

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and with its effect I draw a card! Then I also summon Gaga Petrova, Light Spirit and end my turn!"

All of a sudden, Kaizer's hand glowed with a bright white aura. Tsugumi immediately recognized it as being the same one that Leona had in their duel at the hot springs.

"Oh no! Does that mean that you also have one?!" Tsugumi asked while sweating.

"Messa Danjiri Dragon reduces the cost of my Unknown and Zenith creatures by 1, which means that I am now able to summon this guy!" Kaizer said while showing a card that depicted a Spartan warrior that was wielding a lance in its left hand and was firing a beam from its right hand. "I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!"

The warrior that was depicted in the card appeared in the battle zone, but its size was big as that of a building. Greatest Great was one of the Gods from the creature world, one of the creatures that belonged to the Zero civilization, which meant that once it entered into play, the tables would be turned around into its user's favor.

"A Zenith creature…" Tsugumi murmured while staring amazed at the mighty gladiator like being.

"When Greatest Great enters the battle zone, I may put any number of creatures with a total cost of 7 from my mana zone or graveyard into the battle zone." Kaizer said and then two cards from his mana zone bounced and landed into the battle zone. "I put Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jenny, the Suicide Doll into the battle zone! With the effect of Kyriu Jilves, all of my creatures are now speed attackers and slayers! Go, Greatest Great, break all of her shields!"

"B-block it, Tenshi!" Tsugumi rushed to tap her card.

As Greatest Great was about to tear down each and every one of Tsugumi's shields with its lance, Joan of Arc flew in front of it and took the attack instead, blowing up to pieces.

"When Joan of Arc blocks, I may tap two of your creatures, and I tap Kiryu Jilves and Codename Bazagaze Ragon!" Tsugumi declared and watched the two cards get tapped.

"Messa Danjiri Dragon, break her shield! Jenny, the Suicide Doll, break her shield!" Kaizer ordered and both creatures took down two of Tsugumi's shields. "I end my turn."

When the girl saw the cards from her hand, her confidence slowly returned. As she drew her next card as well, she immediately tapped six mana and showed it to her opponent while saying:

"I cast Heaven's Gate and with its effect I put HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon into the battle zone! Now Gaga Petrova, destroy Kiryu Jilves! Gaga Pikarian, take down Messa Danjiri Dragon!"

"Impressive moves, chosen light duelist." Kaizer complimented the girl while watching his two cards land in his graveyard. "However, they won't prevent you from your impending doom! I summon Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo! With its effect I destroy Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!

Much to Tsugumi's surprise, she saw Kaizer's own creature blow up in front of her. However, she also noticed that the card returned to its owner's hand.

"Greatest Great has Eternal Omega, which means that once it leaves the battle zone, it returns to my hand!" Kaizer said. "Now by Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo's effect, you must also destroy one of your creatures."

"I destroy… Gaga Pikarian." Tsugumi said.

"I end my turn."

Tsugumi's next draw was not a good one. She got Great Hercules, Giant Insect which evolved from Hunters, but all her creatures were Aliens. Seeing that she had no other alternative, Tsugumi tapped one of her cards and said:

"Gaga Petrova, break his shield, ike!"

Kaizer watched unimpressed how the light alien took down one more of his shields. Once he got the card in his hand, he quickly placed it in his mana zone and showed his trump card once again while saying:

"I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!"

The giant Spartan warrior reappeared much to Tsugumi's dismay and this time two cards flew from Kaizer's graveyard into the air and landed onto his table in the battle zone.

"With its effect I revive Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jasmine, Mist Faerie! With Kiryu Jilves' effect, all of my creatures are now speed attacker and slayer! Go, Jenny, break her last shield!" Kaizer ordered.

"Block it, Perfect Madonna!" Tsugumi said.

"Jasmine, break her last shield!"

"Block it, HEIKE Double Cross!"

"Kiryu Jilves, break her last shield!"

This time there was no blocker to protect Tsugumi and thus she had lost her shield. And to make things worse, her last shield was Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits, a card that could have helped her win the game.

"It's all over now…" Kaizer declared and then he put his hand on the Greatest Great card. "I could finish you off, but on second thought, I won't."

"But… why not?" Tsugumi asked with surprise.

"I will let you experience the shame of seeing your friends and this very place getting destroyed! Look, mortal!"

Kaizer pointed to the other duels that were going on and Tsugumi had the shock of seeing her friends get defeated. Leona's Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore", Alwyn's Shooting Exedrive and Alien's Emperor Cebu Marco X attacked Tiger, Tamma and Luna, throwing them a few feet away and having them land on the cold ground wounded.

"NOOO, GUYS!" Tsugumi yelled.

"And this is just the beginning, Tsugumi Shirayama!" Kaizer declared and then he turned to Greatest Great. "Destroy this city and its inhabitants! Do not let a single one get away!"

"NO, YOU CAN'T!"

Tsugumi ran from her dueling table to Kaizer, but the armored duelist threw a darkness beam on her that pushed her back but did not wound her, for he wanted her to see everything that was going on. When Tsugumi got up, she saw how Greatest Great was flying above the city and firing beams from its right hand that were setting buildings on fire while also cutting other buildings down with its lance.

When the blonde girl turned to the burning museum, she saw that Kaizer was gone. Same was for his minions. They had left. Only her three teammates were lying unconscious and wounded on the ground.

All of a sudden, a strange figure came out of the darkness and slowly approached Tsugumi. While on its way, Tiger grabbed its foot and with his last power he said to it:

"The Proof chose us; we weren't supposed to fail…"

"Remember with pride what you are, Tiger, so that we won't forget the day in which we have fallen." the figure responded and then it continued its way.

"Wait, Suba…"

Before Tiger could finish his sentence, he collapsed once again on the ground. Subaru approached Tsugumi with a saddened look on his face. The girl returned the expression and both lovers hugged each other as the fires consumed the buildings around them and their inhabitants were running for their lives.

Meanwhile, as Shubham was trying to find a way out of the city, all of a sudden Kaizer appeared in front of him blocking his path.

"Y-you!" Shubham exclaimed with fear and fell on his back.

"You've betrayed me, Shubham, and I don't like traitors!" Kaizer announced.

Before Shubham could react, Kaizer leaned down to him and put his right hand on his head. Shubham yelled with pain while Kaizer filled his head with darkness. When the teen fell unconscious, Kaizer grabbed him and put him on his back. Afterwards he waited a few moments for his UFO to come and take them away.

Back at the chosen duelists, Subaru and Tsugumi were both sitting in the middle of the burning city while waiting for their UFO to come and rescue them. Suddenly the Proof came out of Subaru's pockets and floated in front of them.

"You have failed in defeating Kaizer." the Proof said to the in a harsh parent like tone.

"But he was too strong for us!" Tsugumi defended her friends.

"Nonsense, you are this world's heroes, you cannot lose to the likes of him!"

At the hearing of those words, Subaru clenched his fists in anger and shouted to the Proof:

"When you chose us, you thought that all the evil will fall under your stare, but instead your own angels have suffered that fate just like Lucifer! What kind of heroes do you think we are when we have failed again and again? What future do we have when we have fallen farther into this nightmare?!"

Not being able to stand it anymore, Subaru fell on the ground and cried while hitting the ground with both his fists. Tsugumi put her hands on her chest and like a saint she walked to the Proof with tears falling down from her eyes:

"Yes, we have failed you. Yes, we were not able to stop the evil. But I now come to you not as the chosen light duelist, but as a simple girl that asks you this: Please forgive Subaru, for he doesn't know what he's saying. Please forgive us for disappointing you. I swear that I will always be loyal to you and to our cause, and no matter what happens, I will always fight for peace and justice!"

A shadow fell upon them and when they looked up, they saw their own UFO. A beam came out of it and teleported all the chosen duelists and the Proof inside of it. After that the spaceship flew off out of the city of Mumbai that was still being destroyed by Greatest Great.

Inside it, Subaru and Blane were sitting by the window looking at the flames of the city that were growing higher and higher by each second that passed.

"So that's it, Kaizer won." Blane said.

"With the price of those innocents. Their world is now enslaved in flame; they're damned in their own homes. And what's worse, Kaizer's power has grown upon this sacrifice!" Subaru replied while staring into the flames, the screams of the citizens resounding in his ears still.

"At this very moment he has three out of the five map pieces. What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know, Blane, but I'm certain of one thing: nothing will ever be able to wash off this shame from our shoulders."

Subaru took out his deck and stared at his Liger Blade card with sadness coming from his eyes. Not only did they let down the city of Mumbai, but also the world.

"Forgive me, Raion, I failed you, I failed you all…" Subaru whispered while letting a tear fall from his right eye and land on the card.


	27. Scars of the Present

It was a cloudy December day. The chilling wind was blowing powerfully, the air was frosty and the leafless trees seemed as if they were ghosts that haunted in the winter. The ground had already been covered by the first rug of snow that nature had chosen to bless our heroes' city with.

At the yard of a school located in the center of the city, the long awaited break had finally come. The younger students were all sitting at tables dressed in thick winter clothes and were playing cards.

"Startdash Buster, Divine Hero Mech, todomeda!" a brown haired 12 year old boy gave the finishing command and a beam came out of his card that pushed a blonde 11 year old boy on the ground. "Heh, owned ya again, Johnny!"

"Man, you clearly are the strongest duelist in our school, Chad!" Johnny declared. "I still don't get it how that 10 year old brat and that tall freak wearing a black shirt could beat you."

"I don't know, but when I see them again, I'll show them who the true master is!" Chad declared.

A 10 year old boy with dark red hair that was raised up to resemble a flame, green eyes and who was wearing a red winter jacket passed by them with a saddened look on his face.

"And it seems that your wish has been granted." Johnny commented while looking at the gloomy red haired boy. "Look who just came back!"

"Wow, I don't believe it, pipsqueak Tamma has returned!" Chad spoke loudly so that the others around him could hear. "Hey Tamma, what's with that big frown of yours?"

Seeing that he was ignored, Chad rushed from his table and stood in front of Tamma blocking his path. The red haired boy stopped walking and stared at the snowy ground.

"Why did our 'hero' decide to give up his journey all of a sudden and come back to us?" Chad arrogantly asked but he still got no response from Tamma. "Could it be that the chosen freaks didn't like you because you weren't freaky enough?"

Tamma growled a little and clenched his right fist, but he tried to keep his calm. Annoyed that the red haired boy did not explode with rage yet, Chad lost his cool and grabbed him by his jacket, raising him up to his level. There they looked in each other's eyes and Chad menacingly said to him:

"Listen here, brat, no-one ignores me, because I'm the king of dueling in this place!"

"I'd spit in your face, but I'd disgust my saliva if I let it touch your 'royal' skin." Tamma countered with his own irony, making the kids around them laugh.

Getting even more angered, Chad threw Tamma in the snow and showed his deck.

"Alright, hot shot, let's see if you can back up your big mouth!" Chad suggested.

"It's about time someone kicked your butt!" Tamma replied and took out his deck while getting up from the snow.

The two duelists went to the dueling table that was nearest to them and set their cards. Both put five cards in the shield zone and drew five cards each. With the shout of the phrase 'duel start!' the march began. All the young students gathered around them, excited to see the second round of Chad VS Tamma. In their previous match Tamma emerged victorious with his Ogre Beater creature, but ever since then Chad had gotten angrier and was defeating his opponents faster and without any mercy.

It was Tamma's second turn. The red haired boy tapped Terror Pit and No Questions! Ogre Boy in his mana zone and showed a rainbow card to his opponent while saying:

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!"

Then Chad's turn came. He tapped Dacity Dragoon, Explosive Beast and Natural Snare in his mana zone and also showed a rainbow card while saying:

"I summon Taiga, the Warrior Savage! Since he has speed attacker, I now attack with Taiga, break his shield!"

A wave came out of Chad's tapped card and pushed a card from Tamma's shield zone to his hand. However, Tamma was not scared by Chad's rush. The boy simply went on charging mana and summoning another creature.

"I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre!" Tamma said while placing the card in the battle zone. "Vorg, break his shield!"

A wave also came out from Tamma's card and pushed a shield card to Chad's hand. However, a smirk soon appeared on his face as he tapped his three mana cards and put a fire card in the battle zone.

"I summon Pyrofighter Magnus, who is also a speed attacker! Go, Taiga and Magnus, break his shields!" Chad ordered and then he watched how Tamma took two more cards from his shield zone to his hand. "Heh, now Magnus returns to my hand. I end!"

"Hehehe, things aren't looking too good for you, Tamma!" Johnny mockingly laughed. "You've lost three shields quickly and Chad's got a handful of speed attackers. What can you possibly do to avoid his beat down?"

All of a sudden, Tamma's Straight, Fighting Ogre card glowed with a red and purple light much to everyone's surprise. A grin of confidence appeared on Tamma's face and the boy spoke to his opponent:

"Straight, Fighting Ogre makes all of my Human evolution creatures cost 2 less to summon. And because of this, I now evolve Vorg into Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion"!"

Tamma raised his hand in the air and placed the card he was holding upon his Vorg, Brawler of Hell card. The new card shined with a bright red aura and then the dueling table was torn in half. Johnny's four shields appeared along with his Taiga. Tamma's last two shields and Straight, Fighting Ogre also appeared, but then a giant red armored humanoid wielding a white sword combined with a chainsaw in its right hand appeared behind Tamma and most of the spectators backed off, amazed of the spectacle they were seeing.

"He turned the duel into a kaijudo… so soon." Chad murmured with fear.

"Meet my deck avatar, Kasai! He's now evolved into something bigger and stronger!" Tamma excitedly said.

"Yes, I am now living up to my master's standards!" Kasai proudly added with a voice similar to that of a child that had gotten the high score at a test and was proudly presenting it to his mother.

"Now go, Kasai, triple break his shields!"

The creature listened to its master's order and swung its sword in the air then used it to slash three of Chad's shields. The boy took cover as the attack was taking place, and once it finished and he got the cards in his hand, he showed one to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Volcanic Arrows and destroy Straight, Fighting Ogre!"

A lava arrow fell from the sky and stabbed the young samurai boy that was standing by Tamma's side, making it explode. Then the red haired child watched how Chad's last shield got shattered into pieces, its card landing in the graveyard.

"Huh? But how?" Tamma asked.

"Volcanic Arrows' effect also makes Chad send one of his shields to the graveyard, sadly." Johnny explained.

"Still, you're finished, Tamma!" Chad declared while showing two multicolored cards to him. "I summon two Taigas, the Warrior Savage! Hahaha, I have three attackers and you have two shields left! It's all over for you, chosen brat! Taiga, break his shield!"

A tiger like armored humanoid with a laser gun for its right hand blasted one of Tamma's shields into oblivion.

"My second Taiga, break his last shield!" Chad continued and another tiger like humanoid fired a laser from its gun and took down Tamma's last shield. "This is it! Taiga, todome…"

"Not so fast, pal!" Tamma exclaimed with a hero like accent while showing the card that was lying in his final shield. "Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper!"

"Huh? What's that?" Chad asked confused.

"Oh no, Reckless Cut Scrapper! That spell destroys any number of Chad's creatures with a total cost of 6 or less!" Johnny said worried.

"Destroy all three Taigas!" Tamma said and then a pink chainsaw appeared out of nowhere and cut all of Chad's creatures in front of him, making them disappear.

"This can't be happening…" Chad said in disbelief and fell on his knees.

"This one's for all those that you humiliated so much! Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion", TODOMEDA! GET HIM, KASAI!"

The giant red humanoid jumped at Chad and before the bully even knew it, its sword collided with his body, tearing his jacket and shirt open and throwing him away, having him land at the gates of the schoolyard.

All the kids began to cheer, for they were all fed up with Chad's arrogance. They surrounded the little chosen fire duelist and began asking him about his adventures with the chosen duelists and how he had gotten so powerful.

Meanwhile at the entrance doors of the school, Luna and Tiger were standing and watching what had happened between Tamma and Chad. Luna was holding two large books in her hands and a backpack on her back and she had put a proud face on but Tiger was sitting against the wall with his hands in his pockets, eyes closed and he barely had a small smile on his face.

"He has evolved into a better duelist, that's for sure!" Luna happily said.

"Indeed he has, let's just hope that this time he'll be able to help us defeat Kaizer." Tiger replied with worry in his voice.

"I know. Ever since we've come back I just can't manage to forget that defeat in Mumbai! And those poor innocent people…"

"Don't worry, when the time comes we'll make Kaizer pay for what he did, that's a promise, Luna!"

"Let's hope that Hakuoh-sama was right and that taking a break from the whole chosen duelist thing is really what we needed. Tiger, I wonder how Subaru and Tsugumi are doing."

"Not too good, that's for sure. But my main concern right now is what Kaizer is doing. I bet that he is hiding in the shadows preparing his next move on us while we stay here defeated and defenseless. That evil bastard surely is cooking up something right now!"

While the two were having their discussion, a few streets away from the school, in a supermarket, a man dressed in purple knight armor with spikes, a red cape and a horned helmet that resembled a dragon skull was paying at the checkout for the food he had bought.

"That will be 99.5, sir." the cashier said.

"Keep the change." Kaizer replied and offered her a bill of 100.

"Thank you for shopping at us!" the cashier saluted him.

"Have a nice day!" Kaizer wished her and then he walked out of the market with a bag filled with a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, a box with ten eggs and some cheese.

Kaizer walked all the way back to his UFO that was parked at the empty beach. He ignored all the people that were giving him weird looks just because he was in an armor with spikes. Once Kaizer entered the spaceship, he was greeted by Leona who said:

"Welcome back, Kaizer-sama! I trust that your mission of shopping was a success?"

"Indeed it was, Leona." Kaizer replied and then he walked to the kitchen in which Alwyn was cooking intensely. "Here, I brought you everything that you requested."

"Thanks, la, dinner should be ready soon!" Alwyn assured his master who just put the bag with groceries on the table.

Kaizer nodded to his minion and then he walked followed by Leona to the laboratory of Alien in which the being from outer space was plugging an unconscious Shubham to wires.

"How is he?" Kaizer asked.

"He still hasn't regained consciousness, Kaizer-sama. However, it seems that the darkness that has infested his brain is making his body musculature grow bigger. Also, it seems that his force is growing significantly!" Alien gave the report.

"What are you planning to do with the traitor?" Leona asked.

"You will soon see, my dear minions!" Kaizer enthusiastically spoke.

If one went to the UFO of the chosen duelists, they would find a place filled with sorrow. Even though nobody important of theirs had died in the last month, Subaru and Tsugumi were still acting as if they were in mourning. Gone were the happy moods that they used to maintain in the spaceship. Only Tsugumi would barely force a smile on her face whenever she would meet with Nolan on the corridor, but that was about it. To try and forget the depression that dominating the UFO, Nolan and Robert kept concentrating on their own mission of catching Tigra.

On that day Tsugumi walked to the hospital room with a cup of tea for Subaru who was standing once again by his friend Edo's side. The blonde girl slowly entered the room and put the tea on the drawer while saying:

"Subaru, here, this should make you feel better."

"I don't think that anything could make us feel better now, Tsugumi…" Subaru sorrowfully replied.

"Don't give up hope, my love, it's the last thing that we've got!" Tsugumi advised him and then she walked out of the room.

Subaru took another look at his friend who was lying peacefully on the bed while connected to the machines that still kept him alive. The more he saw him, the more his pain was growing. Seeing his best pal in that state was devastating for the chosen darkness duelist. Then Aqua Naruto Surfer appeared on Subaru's shoulder and looked at its former master while screeching.

"Yes, I understand how you feel." Subaru said to the creature with mercy coming from his voice. "It breaks my heart to see him like this, too. If only I dueled Tabitha instead of him…"

All of a sudden, a voice from Subaru's pockets interrupted their sad moment:

"Are you going to stand here all day and do nothing?"

In the next moment a blue gem came out of the pockets from Subaru's jeans and floated in the air in front of the chosen darkness duelist and the little Aqua Naruto Surfer that was lying on his shoulder.

"The Proof of Duelmaster… what do you want now?" Subaru asked bored.

"Subaru, while you and the others are wasting your time, Kaizer might already be on his quest for the fourth map piece!" the Proof warned him. "These past two weeks that you have spent doing nothing could have been used for…"

"For what? For following a freak in an armor who wants to get some pieces of paper and failing at stopping him?"

"Don't you dare mock me, Subaru Geki!"

Subaru instantly shut up and stared stunned at the Proof. What was in his mind? Was he actually yelling at the one whose chosen cards made him young again and brought him the opportunity of going through so many adventures and making friends? And most importantly, did he forget that the one he was yelling at was the source of everything that meant Duel Masters? At that moment Subaru was about to bow down in shame and apologize at the Proof, but then he looked at the Aqua Naruto Surfer from his shoulder and saw the sadness in the creature's eyes. That was what made him to not react as anyone would have expected and instead he spoke to the Proof with an even harsher voice:

"Oh no, pal, I have a lot to discuss with you, and you're not getting away that easily!"

"What is the meaning of this, chosen darkness duelist? Just what happened to you?" the Proof asked with surprise.

"Oh nothing, I just thought up some stuff recently and I wanted to clarify some things with you, boss!" Subaru continued with even more determination in his voice. "First of all, why did you never use your powers to revive my dear friends Rad and Sora, the ex-chosen fire and nature duelists?"

"Well, you see, they were replaced and…"

"No, Proof, I am talking about the days before we recruited Tamma, Luna and Tiger! Why did you not use your powers and bring them back? Surely it would mean nothing for you since you are the powerful gem that every villain desired to get their hands on!"

"It's more complicated than that, Subaru. I mean, your friends were already dead by the time you guys brought them back and also…"

"But what about Edo-kun, Proof? He is still alive but paralyzed. Why didn't you use your powers to heal him?"

Aqua Naruto Surfer screeched at the Proof in approval of what Subaru had just said.

"Well, it's kind of too late for that now." the Proof spoke nervously. "I mean, he has already been replaced by Luna and if I do bring him back, there will be two chosen water duelists and that would disrupt the balance of their civilization."

"Oh don't give me that 'balance' bullshit!" Subaru replied with an even louder voice. "Just who do you think is going to believe that garbage?"

"ENOUGH!" the Proof shouted and its light became brighter that it turned the whole hospital room blue. "I will not tolerate your insolent behavior anymore!"

"Oh really? I had to tolerate all that hell that you've put me and my friends into just to save a world that is never grateful of what we do for them! And instead of being so kind as to give us something that could heal our wounds even a bit, you instead prefer to make us keep working for your megalomaniacal ass!"

"In this moment you shall shut up, Subaru Geki!" the Proof declared and fired a blue beam upon the black haired teen that threw him against the wall. "Don't forget who the master is and who the servant around here is!"

Aqua Naruto Surfer used its power and materialized as a small creature the size of a cup and licked Subaru's face to wake him up. Once he opened his eyes, the water creature smiled and disappeared.

"Snipy… thank you." Subaru whispered and then he turned to the Proof and got up on his feet.

"Now that you have calmed down, let us plan our next move against Kaizer." the Proof suggested.

"Tsh, plan your crappy stuff without me, I'm done!" Subaru declared and then he tossed his Dorballom, Lord of Demons card at the blue gem.

"What do you mean? Where are you going, Subaru Geki?" the Proof asked the black haired teenage boy that was walking to the door.

"I refuse to spend my life serving someone as self-centered and crazy as you. From this moment on I am no longer the chosen darkness duelist."

And with those words Subaru disappeared from the hospital room. Tsugumi, who had witnessed everything, was walking after Subaru.

"Subaru, what do you think you're doing?" the blonde girl asked him but received no response. "Please, answer me! Where are you going?"

However, Subaru would not even turn his head to look at her. But once he reached the exit door, the blonde girl ran in front of him and blocked his path while staring at him with her blue eyes.

"Subaru, don't do this, you can't…" Tsugumi implored.

"I'm sorry, Tsugumi, but I have to." Subaru replied and then his brown eyes met hers and almost as if their souls were communicating, she understood what he was feeling.

"I see… But what about me?"

"Don't worry, Tsugumi, I promise that whatever happens we will meet again."

The girl hugged him tightly and pressed her lips against his. The two stood like that for a few moments and when she finally let go, she said:

"Please be careful."

"I will." Subaru assured her and then he walked out of the UFO. "Take care of the team while I'm gone!"

"Don't worry, I will!" Tsugumi promised.

Subaru walked in the open field as the winter wind was blowing upon him. All that he wore were his jeans and his short sleeved black T shirt with the darkness civilization symbol. While most would have thought of his act as one of madness, it seemed that it was not so, as he stopped in the middle of the field and spoke:

"You may stop following me now. I know that you're here, Blane."

A red and gold phoenix wielding four blades appeared in front of him. On its shoulder was a teen with brown hair long to his neck, wearing sunglasses, a grey cloak with the number 13 on it, a pair of jeans and who also had a sheath with a sword at the right side of his pants.

"Hey dude, what's up with this whole leaving the chosen duelists thing?" Blane asked.

"It's a long story, dude." Subaru replied and then he climbed on the phoenix's other shoulder. "Say, care to take me for a ride?"

"Sure, where do you wanna go?"

"Some place where I can clear my thoughts."

And so Eternal Phoenix flew off with the two and disappeared in the clear sky.

Meanwhile at Kaizer's UFO, Shubham's body was fully surrounded by an aura of darkness and it seemed that his force was about to break all of Alien's equipment.

"Kaizer-sama, it looks as if he is going to explode any minute now!" Alien exclaimed worried.

"Perfect, it's time for my new minion to awaken!" Kaizer declared and then he took out a card and walked to Shubham. "I now grant you a new avatar whose power will give you a new life! Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" take over his body and bring to the world a new terror!"

The card shined with a white aura and the image of a blue and green demon with two laser guns on its back appeared for a few moments above Kaizer. Then that demon entered Shubham's body and the aura of darkness finally disappeared. A shining white R mark appeared on his forehead and shined through his red headband. Then he opened his eyes that shined red as the flames of Hades.

"Say hello to my newest weapon!" Kaizer said. "Arise, Raiden!"


	28. The ghastly duelist

"_Who am I? Where am I supposed to go? What am I even doing here?" _

_A light suddenly appeared in the sea of darkness in which Subaru was bathing. He opened his eyes and saw the moment in which his father kicked him out of the mansion with nothing but his clothes on and his darkness cards in his pocket._

"_Am I the failure of the Geki family that was wasting their time and that was supposed to leave and never come back again?"_

_The image then changed to that of Tsugumi being killed by Zakira right in front of a defenseless Subaru's eyes._

"_Am I the lover who couldn't protect his significant half that disappointed her and watched her die by the hands of a maniac?"_

_Once again the scene changed and Subaru could see himself playing with Edo and having a good time, even if that meant accidentally wrecking everything in their path._

"_Am I the best friend of a dimwit who actually saw something worthwhile in me?"_

_The picture morphed once again and Subaru saw himself and Tsugumi leading the revolution that freed the world from the tyrannical oppression of his father. Then in a few moments he also saw Tabitha killing Mutsuhito Geki._

"_Am I the hero of a world that has forgotten about him and who despite all of his acts of bravery has failed in protecting his own father?"_

_That scene disappeared and got replaced by one in which Subaru was bound to a metallic cross in Tabitha's castle and Hanna was kissing him on the lips._

"_Am I the bastard who broke the heart of an innocent girl who had a huge crush on me?"_

_The picture quickly transformed into one in which Subaru was clinging to a rock above a pool of lava and was holding unto a wounded Tabitha with the other hand._

"_Am I the hero who was so big hearted that he would save his own foe from death?"_

_Once again the image changed and Subaru could see his friends Rad, Sora and Edo getting crushed by the hands of Tabitha and her minions. Then he also got a picture of Tamma, Tiger and Luna entering the UFO._

"_Guys… I'm sorry; I now know who I am." Subaru spoke to the vision. "I am nobody. A wanderer through this great human journey who doesn't deserve the gift life had blessed him with. But don't worry, I won't be standing in your way ever again!"_

"Hey dude, wake up, we're there!" Blane's voice resounded in the air.

Subaru opened his eyes and saw the beautiful winter night sky. He realized he had fallen asleep on Eternal Phoenix, and yet somehow he did not get burned. The black haired boy got his head up and saw that they had arrived at a hot spring hotel that was lying in the middle of the woods, abandoned from civilization.

"Where are we?" Subaru asked while rubbing his eyes.

"We're at the place where Tsugumi and Luna spent their 'holiday'. You said you wanted a place where you could clear your thoughts and I think that a hot spring is the best place." Blane explained.

"Alright, let's go then!"

It was around 5 PM. Since it was winter, the sun had gone down earlier and it was already night. Making their way through the snow towards the chosen duelist UFO all dressed in thick winter jackets by the colors of red, blue and green were Tamma, Luna and Tiger.

"I wonder what could be so important that Tsugumi-chan called us." Luna said.

"Probably Kaizer is on the move." Tiger suggested.

"I'll ring the bell!" Tamma burst and ran to the UFO's door.

The red haired child pressed a red button and a computerized noise that resembled a bell played. By the time Luna and Tiger reached Tamma, the UFO's door opened and a rather saddened Tsugumi greeted them while holding the Proof in her hands.

"Tsugumi-chan, is something the matter?" Luna asked.

"Guys… we need to find a new chosen darkness duelist!" Tsugumi said with sorrow.

Upon hearing those words, all three had their eyes widen and their jaws drop.

Meanwhile at Kaizer's UFO, the armored duelist was standing with Leona at its door and watching how a purple beam was flying across the sky.

"Do you think that he will accomplish his mission?" Leona asked.

"Trust me; he is my deadliest weapon up to date. And soon he will prove it to the world!" Kaizer assured the girl.

"If that's so, then I can only imagine the bloodshed that he will cause!"

A grin appeared on Leona's face that showed the excitement that she had upon the news of an impending massacre. Her reaction was expected by Kaizer, for he knew of the bloodlust that the girl had.

At the hotel, Subaru and Blane had booked a room for two nights and after making themselves feel like home, they changed in their towels and headed for the hot springs. They took the showers quickly, for they were impatient to feel the hot water coming from the bowels of the earth. After just a minute of letting the shower water fall on their bodies, they both ran to the pool and did a cannon ball jump. After sitting a few seconds in the hot water, Subaru was first to get his head out of it and spit it out. Afterwards he arranged his hair on the back of his head and sat against a rock.

"Hell yeah, this is the life!" Subaru yawned.

"Sure is!" Blane popped out of the water with his sunglasses still on. "Wasn't my idea of us going to the hot springs great?"

"Indeed it was. But you know, dude, you can take off your glasses."

"Nah, I don't think I want to freak out anyone with my eyes."

Subaru got up from his little relaxing place and walked to Blane and took off his sunglasses, revealing his two colored eyes.

"Blane, listen, this is who you are and you shouldn't feel ashamed about what happened! Just accept that your eyes are like this and don't listen to what the world tells you!" Subaru advised him and then he put the glasses on the rock.

"You just don't know what it is like to be bullied…" Blane sighed.

"Yes, I do!" Subaru spoke loudly. "Ever since I was little, I was mocked by my family for loving darkness cards, my father was always treating me toughly and would almost never smile to me, and even when I was free from my family's clutches the world outside would still laugh at my hair or black shirts and would marginalize me! But do you know what I would do to them?"

"Get angry and kick their asses?" Blane hypothesized.

"Wrong, I would simply ignore them and walk away, forgetting what they said instantly. There's no reason for you to put to heart everything that random people say. So stop hiding your true self, there's no need for glasses in order for you to be 'cool'."

"Err… I guess so?"

"You're a frigging hero, how could you not be cool?"

Subaru's words touched Blane and made him look at his own reflection in the water. When he saw his eyes, he still felt the shame of Leona defeating him, but he realized that it was the past and he had to accept who he was and move on.

Later that night, the four chosen duelists were standing in front of a bar that had purple neon lights above its entrance that shaped the words 'Shadow Club'. That place was popular for usual darkness duelists that would go and relax after days of hard work doing 'evil'.

"Are you sure, Tiger?" Tsugumi asked.

"This is the best place where we will find good darkness duelists. The Proof will be pleased." Tiger confidently replied.

"I don't really like it here…" Luna shyly said.

"As much as I admire darkness, this place looks too creepy even for me." Tamma added.

"Hey, it's the Proof's will, not mine." Tiger excused himself. "Anyway, let's go!"

Once they opened the doors, what greeted them was a thick and strong smelling tobacco smoke. After Tsugumi, Luna and Tamma covered their noses, the quartet went inside. The bar was rather simple built. A huge hall with 80% being a dance ring and the other 20% comprising of the tables that were in the left and right of the ring as well as the bar that lied at the dead end of the hall. The music that was playing was some dark ambient tune comprised of synthesizers and special effects such as wind wounds or screams. In the middle of the ring a couple of two emo kids were dancing and the tables were all taken by criminal looking thugs with tattoos, earrings, eye patches, huge muscles and whatnot. It was a really unpleasant place to be if you were not one of them.

As the chosen duelists walked by, they heard voices coming from the tables:

"Hey, it's those chosen duelists!"

"What the hell are they doing here?"

"Probably they must find some 'bad guy'."

"But where's that excuse of a darkness duelist called Subaru?"

"I don't know, he was probably too pussy to come here!"

It was clear for the four that all the eyes were set on them. Still that did not stop them from going to the bartender who was a fat bald man that was cleaning the glasses. Once he saw them, he spoke:

"Welcome to the Shadow Club! How can I serve you?"

In the next moment Tiger placed his fist on the bar much to everyone's shock.

"We're not here to drink!" Tiger said with an authoritarian voice and then he turned to the duelists that had all gotten from their tables almost ready to jump on him. "We're here to organize a contest to see which one of you losers thinks can be the best. The winner will have the chance of replacing Subaru Geki, the ex-chosen darkness duelist!"

Tiger's last sentence hurt Tsugumi deeply. To hide it, she simply stepped next to him and added with a similar voice:

"Being a chosen duelist is a tough job and it requires a really talented and strong player! The contest will be a hard one, so you all better give your best!"

The responses of the darkness duelists were moans of complaint but in the end they all accepted and they formed a group that headed to the dueling table from a corner of the local. There they formed their own unorthodox list and began to duel one by one.

Back at the hot springs hotel, it was getting late and the two teens saw that most lights were being shut down inside the building. Still, the water was way too relaxing for them to leave so quickly, so they both agreed to stay more.

"You know what, Subaru? After seeing you guys go through so many adventures and defeating so many evils, I feel like it's an honor to travel with a chosen duelist!" Blane complimented him.

"Gee, dude, thanks but… I'm no longer a chosen duelist." Subaru replied with a rather saddened voice.

"Well, if that's what you want, I'm with you all the way. Wherever you want me to take you from now on, I will loyally join you!" Blane declared.

"Hehe, it's good to know I have someone to back me up after all this." Subaru suddenly smiled to him. "I wonder what the others are doing…"

After two long hours of dueling at the Shadows Club, a whole pile of defeated duelists were standing near the dueling table. Now a skinny emo boy dressed in a long black T shirt and tight torn black jeans was facing a man dressed in a black coat that held different strange items in all of its many pockets.

"Hehehe, due to my Rose Castle, Rose Baron Roosevelt and Moldy Bread Man, your Necrodragon Jagraveen now has -3000!" the black coated man laughed. "And now to turn the tides in my favor even more, I cast Ganveet Twist and give another -3000 to your Necrodragon Jagraveen, destroying it!"

"Aw, that's a drag, man!" the emo boy complained as his card fell into his graveyard.

"Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons, break his final shields!" the man continued and watched how the emo boy took both cards in his hand but gave no signs of shield triggers. "It's time to finish you! Rose Baron Roosevelt, todomeda!"

"Ninja strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 to Roosevelt, destroying him!" the boy said while showing the card and watching how the man's creature got destroyed.

"Well then… Moldy Bread Man, todomeda!"

The emo boy fell defeated and the man wiped his hands victoriously. Tiger then walked to him and spoke loudly so that all could hear him:

"It looks like we have a victor!"

"Yes, I did it!" the man exclaimed happily. "By the way, the name's Swindle."

"Swindle? What an interesting name…" Luna said and then she began to write down in her cyber notebook.

"Hey babe, wanna buy some jewels, I'll give them at a low price just for you!" Swindle said to Tsugumi and then he revealed some diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires in one of his jacket's pockets.

"No thanks, I'm not interested!" Tsugumi replied with disgust.

"Come on, babe, I'll cut half of the price just for you!" Swindle insisted.

All of a sudden a card came out of the darkness and hit Swindle in the head, returning into the darkness like a boomerang. The coated dealer turned angrily to the source where it came and shouted:

"Who the hell dares to bother me while I'm making deals?!"

"Still haven't given up on tricking people into buying your fake trash, eh Swindle?" a male voice replied from the darkness.

Then out of the shadows walked a boy around 18 years old wearing dark blue jeans, a black T shirt with the words 'I AM THE BEST' printed on, black gloves with the darkness civilization symbol on, yellow topaz like eyes and short white hair that was raised up in the front.

"Just what do you think you're doing here, Honda? Go play somewhere else!" Swindle dismissively said to the teen.

"Heh, I'm here to kick your sorry ass to kingdom come and become the chosen darkness duelist!" Honda cruelly replied and took out his glowing deck.

"Hahaha, you… defeat me? What a good joke!" Swindle laughed and then he picked up his deck. "Alright, one more duel won't hurt. This way they'll all witness how great I truly am!"

"We'll just have to see about that!" Honda replied with a sly grin on his face as he was arranging his cards. "Let's do this – duel start!"

Thus the match between Swindle and Honda began. Honda was the first so he put Bega, Vizier of Shadow into his mana zone and ended. Then Swindle drew a card, put Hades Death Gate into his mana zone and ended as well.

"Alright, time to liven things up a little, I summon Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding!" Honda said and showed a darkness card that pictured a blue ghost that wielded a hammer in its right hand and three candles in its left hand.

"I summon Propeller Mutant!" Swindle said and put in the battle zone a card that depicted a purple plane that had hands and a small skull head.

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction. Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding, attack and we both play Hardcore Judge!"

Both players reached for the top cards of their decks and revealed them. Swindle had Varz Romanoff, Dark Lord of Demons while Honda had Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint. It was 7 VS 8, so Honda won. Both cards went to the bottom of their owners' decks and then Buchikudaki Food's effect activated and Swindle discarded Death March, Reaper of Death.

"Buchikudaki Food, break his shield!" Honda ordered.

"I summon Galatia Dragoon. Propeller Mutant, break his shield!" Swindle ordered and then he watched how Honda took the card to his hand.

"Alright, it's time to change the tides to my favor! I cast Lost Mind Torture!" Honda said and showed a spell card that depicted two dark blue snakes opening their mouths. "With its effect you will reveal your hand to me and discard all spells!"

"WHAT? ALL SPELLS?!" Swindle shouted.

The two snakes pictured in the card came out of it as holograms and watched how Swindle revealed the three cards from his hand: Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil, Ganveet Twist and Bone Dance Charger. The snakes hissed and bit the two spell cards, making both fall into Swindle's graveyard.

"Also, Batou Shoulder's effect makes your spells cost 1 more for each spell from your graveyard!" Honda announced.

"Which means that all of Swindle's spells now cost 2 more to cast!" Luna pointed out and then she quickly wrote something in her cyber notebook.

"Hehe, good move!" Tiger added.

"Tsh, this isn't over! I charge mana and break another shield with Propeller Mutant!" Swindle said.

"My turn, I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!" Honda said and then he put the top four cards of his deck to the graveyard, which were: Lost Soul, Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture, Inferno Sign and Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint. "I return Melkomi Tamatama to my hand and end!"

"That Ganaru Scream acted like a Primal Scream, fascinating!" Luna said while taking down notes.

"Alright, enough mister nice guy, time to get the big guys out!" Swindle declared and then he tapped five mana and showed the last card from his hand. "I summon Super Trash Train, Fuuma Devil! Now go, Propeller Mutant, break another shield!"

Honda calmly took the shield card in his hand and then he showed it to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Artrophy! With its effect I give -3000 power to Galatia Dragoon and destroy it!"

"Hah, Super Trash Train lets me draw a card for each creature that is destroyed!" Swindle said and then he took a card from the top of his deck to his hand.

"Big deal, the duel is almost over!" Honda replied with a grin that brought shivers down Swindle's spine. "Your fun ends here!"

Honda tapped five mana cards and raised a card in the air that landed upon the creature card that had put cards in his graveyard, while saying:

"Evolution! Ganaru Scream, become Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!"

The card shined with a bright purple light and then a goat skulled ghost dressed in a red tailcoat out of which two snakes were coming appeared behind Honda as a hologram and lit a candle that floated between its arms. The ghost gave his opponent a terrifying devilish laugh and then Honda tapped the card and said:

"Snake Tailcoat, attack! With its effect I may discard a card from my hand and destroy one of your creatures that cost less than the destroyed card!"

"Wait a minute. The card in your hand… is the one that you got from Ganaru Scream's effect, right?" Swindle asked while sweating with fear.

"Exactly!" Honda confidently replied as he tossed the card to his graveyard. "I discard Melkomi Tamatama and destroy Super Trash Train!"

The red train exploded and then Snake Tailcoat's snakes tore down two of Swindle's holographic shields with their mouths.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Locomotiver!" Swindle said.

"Buchikudaki Food, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" Honda said and then they both revealed their top cards: Swindle having Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Honda having Terror Pit, thus Honda winning and Swindle discarding Rose Castle from his hand. "Buchikudaki Food, break his shield! Batou Shoulder, break his last shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Ganveet Twist and give Suffocation Cloak -3000 power!" Swindle said and Honda's card bounced from the battle zone and landed in the graveyard. "Alright, it's my turn and you're going to pay, buddy!"

"Heh, try me!" Honda challenged.

"Grave evolution, I summon not one but two Death March, Reaper of Death! Go, Locomotiver, break his shield! Then Propeller Mutant, break his last shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy a Death March!"

"It's all over for you, creepy brat! Death March, todomeda!"

But just as the energy wave from Swindle's card was about to reach Honda, the white haired boy grinned at him and revealed the card that was in his shields while saying:

"Ninja strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja!"

"What the hell is that thing?!" Swindle asked while sweating.

"When Falconer enters the battle zone, I may turn one of my creatures into a blocker and so I choose to turn him into one! So block Death March, Falconer!" Honda said and then he enjoyed the frustrated look on Swindle's face. "It's time to put you to rest, old man! Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture, todomeda!"

The black coated man fell on his back defeated. Honda then turned to the chosen duelists who were all amazed of his dueling skills and said:

"Alright, now I've shown you who the best darkness duelist around here is!"

"Indeed you did, excellent duel, Honda!" Tiger complimented him towards his teammates' surprise.

"We would be happy to have you in our team!" Luna added.

"Perfect! From now on I am the new chosen darkness duelist!" Honda exclaimed.


	29. Tales of horror

The next day, as tradition asked them to, the chosen duelists brought Honda to the UFO for he had to live there from that moment on. The white haired teen had a rucksack on his back in which he kept all of his stuff. Once he set foot in the spaceship, he was amazed by its modern technology and its luxury.

"Wow, this place is totally awesome!" Honda exclaimed.

"I am glad that you like it. From now on this will be your home too." Luna said.

"My home, eh? Alright, people, it's time for you all to listen to something!"

"What is it, Honda?" Tiger asked as the four chosen duelists gathered around him.

"From now on, I, Honda will be in charge of the team! Together we will pwn every loser that tries to take over the world!"

"Wait a minute, Honda, you can't actually tell me that you're going to take charge of the UFO when there are others that have been here for way longer time than you!" Tsugumi protested.

"Actually, I think that's what I'll actually do, blondie!" Honda replied with arrogance. "After all, what better leader for you guys than me?"

"I don't like him one bit!" Tamma whispered to Tsugumi.

"I wish Subaru was back." Tsugumi whispered back to Tamma.

"So… shall you guys take me to my room?" Honda suggested.

"Sure, follow me!" Tiger replied and the two walked off.

As they left, Tamma showed his tongue to Honda's back mockingly. Tsugumi laughed a bit at his behavior but Luna then said:

"I think you should be a little more polite to our new teammate. It's not his fault he likes to be in charge of things. There are people like that out there."

"Hmph, he's nothing like Subaru!" Tamma said and crossed his arms. "He's a meanie who is in all this for power!"

"I know you might think that it's because I miss Subaru, Luna, but in all honesty I don't really like this Honda character either!" Tsugumi added. "To me it seems as if he's not really concerned with the world's fate as he is with bossing around."

"You might be right, Tsugumi-chan, but I suggest we give him time to accommodate to this lifestyle." Luna defended the new chosen duelist.

"Oh well, I guess you're right." Tsugumi sighed in defeat.

Later that night, the chosen duelists had organized a dinner party for the arrival of their newest teammate. The table was filled with all kinds of food varying from soups to delicious cakes. Tamma was eating faster than a pig from everything he could see, Luna was calmly enjoying her chicken soup, Tsugumi and Tiger were eating stakes and Honda had finished eating already, taking only a bite out of each meal.

"So, Honda, care to tell us a little about you?" Tsugumi asked.

"Heh, there's not much to know about me except that I am the best duelist there is!" Honda replied as he put his elbows on the table and joined his palms together while looking at her with his vile eyes. "I've grown up in a rather poor neighborhood and would spend most of my time in the Shadows Club beating the ever loving piss out of those third rate 'duelists' who didn't even know how to properly use darkness."

"But how are you so certain that none of them could properly use the darkness civilization?" Luna curiously asked.

"Easy… all of them had mono civilization decks and all sucked! What more could I say about them?" Honda calmly said. "My deck was darkness/light, probably the only multi civilization deck around there. And seriously, it was becoming rather boring kicking all they butts that I was actually considering running away from home just to find better challenges."

"Hah… what a sucker." Tamma murmured while munching a weenie.

All of a sudden, Honda appeared behind Tamma's chair, his body surrounded by a purple aura, and he spoke to him with a voice that was too calm even for him:

"Is there a problem, little Tamma?"

"Woah!" Tamma shouted and jumped off his chair on the table. "Ever heard of personal space?!"

"Sorry if I scared you. I thought you were bored and would like to hear a story." Honda innocently replied.

"A story? What kind of story?" Tamma asked sweating.

"Hehehe… a ghost story!" Honda said with a diabolic grin and widened eyes on his face.

"Bring it on; I'm afraid of no ghosts!"

Tamma courageously jumped back on his chair as Honda calmly walked to his own seat. Then the new chosen darkness duelist took a match and lit four candles in front of him on the table. Afterwards he spoke to the others with an even calmer, almost somber voice:

"Story has it that once there was this young boy around Tamma's age that loved running and nothing more. He aspired to become an athlete. On a foggy day he was running through the town to prepare himself for the racing contest that would take place the other day. However, as he was crossing a street… a car drove down and hit him. He died instantly and never participated at that contest. Ever since then, whenever someone would go jogging at night they would hear footsteps behind them. When they turned around, they could see two bare feet running and then… the ghost of Datto would slash their feet with his scythe!"

As he finished the tale, Honda blew off one of the four candles and then he turned to the chosen duelists to analyze their faces. Tiger seemed bored, Luna looked fascinated upon hearing the story, Tsugumi gave the impression that she was even more disgusted of him and Tamma was trembling while having a stunned expression on his face.

"Perfect, he will be the one!" Honda thought.

The darkness duelist got up from his chair and then he spoke with his normal voice:

"Tamma, I want you to duel me!"

"M-me? B-but why me?" Tamma asked with a fearful voice.

"What's the matter? Not tough enough to face me?" Honda mocked.

"Fine, I'll face you!" Tamma changed his voice to his usual ambitious one.

The two walked to the dueling table that was in the kitchen and put their decks on in. They set their cards and thus began their match.

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and put a rainbow card that depicted a humanoid dressed in a black armor in the battle zone.

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight." Honda calmly said and placed a rainbow card in the battle zone that depicted a ghostly night riding on a cloud horse and wielding a spear.

"I summon Ikki and Kumasan, Ogre Beasts! Vorg, break his shield!"

A wave came out of Tamma's card which hit a card from Honda's shield zone and bounced it in the air, the white haired duelist grabbing it and putting it in his hand.

"Why didn't Honda block the attack?" Tsugumi asked.

"He is probably in need of cards in hand." Luna hypothesized.

"Alright, it is time to hinder you a bit, little Tamma!" Honda said while tapping three mana cards. "I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation, now all the cards that you put in your mana zone are put tapped!"

"Tsh… guess I won't be using this anymore." Tamma said and placed Dolmarks, the Shadow Warrior in his mana zone. "Ikki and Kumasan, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

Tamma and Honda revealed the top cards of their deck which were Explodemaru, Careless Ogre and Lost Soul. It was 8 VS 7, so Tamma won.

"Now Ikki and Kumasan's effect destroys Time Tripper!" Tamma said and watched how Honda placed his card in the graveyard. "Ikki and Kumasan, break his shield!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!" Honda said and both creatures got destroyed.

"Vorg, break his shield!"

Honda calmly took another card from his shield zone to his hand. Then he tapped four mana cards and put a darkness creature into the battle zone while saying:

"I summon Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint!"

"Huh? But how could he summon that? It costs 8 mana!" Tsugumi intervened.

"Indeed it does, but its cost is reduced by 1 for each creature he has in the mana zone." Luna explained.

The cards that Honda had in his mana zone were Bega, Vizier of Shadow, Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy, Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction and Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding.

"Hehehe, Melkomi Tamatama costs 8, but I have 4 creatures in my mana zone. 8-4=4, hahaha!" Honda laughed.

"Spare me of your maths! I can do that trick too!" Tamma said and then he tapped four mana cards. "I summon Explodemaru, Careless Ogre!"

Explodemaru had the same summoning effect as Melkomi Tamatama, but the cards in Tamma's mana zone were Terror Pit, No Questions! Ogre Boy, Laurier, Ogre Princess, Dolmarks, the Shadow Warrior and Genji Boy.

"Explodemaru has speed attacker, so go, Explodemaru and Vorg, break two more of his shields!" Tamma said and then he watched how Honda took two more cards from his shield zone to his hand. "Hah, you have one shield left! Soon it will be game over for you, freak!"

"I beg to differ!" Honda replied with a sly smile on his face. "I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!"

The card shined with a purple light and the top four cards of his deck fell into his graveyard. Those cards were Terror Pit, Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture, Lost Mind Torture and Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture.

"I return Filefish Jacket to my hand!" Honda said and the named card flew from the table and landed into his hand. "And now I attack Explodemaru with Melkomi Tamatama, destroy him!"

"This isn't over yet!" Tamma declared after putting Explodemaru into his graveyard. "I summon Genji Boy! He has speed attacker and must attack each turn if able, so go Genji Boy, break his final shield!"

As Honda took the final shield card into his hand, he gave Tamma a chilling stare and showed it to him while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark! I tap Vorg and get another shield!"

Tamma watched disappointed how his only untapped creature card got tapped and how Honda took the top card of his deck and placed it in his shield zone.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture. Ganaru Scream, destroy Genji Boy! Then Melkomi Tamatama, suicide with Vorg! I end." Honda concluded with his confident voice.

The situation wasn't too bright for Tamma. He had no more cards in his hand and had lost control over the battle zone. Now he depended on his next draw. The card that he drew was Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion" which was an evolution creature. Sadly for him, he had no bait to summon it.

"Kasai…" Tamma whispered. "Just wait one more turn, buddy!"

And thus Tamma ended his turn.

"It is time for your demise, chosen fire duelist!" Honda announced. "I summon Bega, Vizier of Shadow! With its effect I put the top card of my deck to my shield zone and you discard a card!"

"Oh no, Kasai!" Honda exclaimed as the card from his hand got darkened and fell into his graveyard.

"Then with Filefish Jacket's effect I may put a Ghost from my graveyard into the battle zone that costs the same as a Ghost I now summoned. In other words… I evolve Bega into Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!"

The Snake Tailcoat card that was in Honda's graveyard came out of it and landed upon his rainbow card that represented Bega. All of a sudden, a black mist appeared behind Honda and out of it came a goat skulled ghost dressed in a red tailcoat out of which two snakes were coming.

"Snake Tailcoat…" Tamma murmured with fear.

"That's the creature that he used to defeat Swindle!" Luna noted.

"Be careful, Tamma-chan!" Tsugumi warned him.

"Snake Tailcoat, double break his shields! Filefish Jacket and Ganaru Scream, break his shields!" Honda ordered and three beams came out of his cards that pushed four of Tamma's shield cards into his hand.

Tamma was trembling and beyond mortified. The ghost story that Honda had told them really had effect on him. And now the terrifying Snake Tailcoat was there and he was frozen with fear. However, the moment he saw what he had gotten from his shields, a bit of his courage returned as he showed a fire card to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper, destroy Snake Tailcoat!"

A pink chainsaw appeared as a hologram and cut Snake Tailcoat into half, making the creature disappear.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Cougar, Ogre Beast and with its effect I destroy Ganaru Scream!" Tamma said, his confidence rising once again. "I end my turn!"

"Alright, Tamma has regained control over the battle zone!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Heh, don't get too happy, for you made a mistake, Tamma!" Honda said.

"And what might that be?" the red haired boy asked.

"You should have destroyed Filefish Jacket with Reckless Cut Scrapper. Now because he is still alive, this game is mine!"

Five mana cards tapped all by themselves as Honda showed a darkness card to his opponent and said:

"I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!"

The top cards from Honda's deck that went into his graveyard were Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, DNA Spark, Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and Inferno Sign. Then the card that went into Honda's hand was Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint.

"Then with Filefish Jacket's effect I evolve Ganaru Scream into Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!" Honda said and Tamma got stunned as he saw the ghost reappear once again behind its master. "Go, Snake Tailcoat, attack and I discard Melkomi Tamatama to destroy Cougar! Now break his final shield!"

Tamma watched how his only creature got destroyed by Snake Tailcoat's snakes and then how the same creature used its snakes to also break his last shield. Much towards his disappointment, it wasn't a shield trigger.

"Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture, todomeda!" Honda ordered.

Tamma screamed fearfully as the holographic ghost hit him and threw him against the wall. However, when he opened his eyes, he saw that everything was back to normal. He was not hurt, but Honda had won the duel.

"Impressive match, Honda!" Luna complimented him.

"Nice dueling skills, I must say!" Tiger added.

"Hehe, it was a piece of cake! That brat was no match for me, the best duelist ever!" Honda said and stretched his arms.

Tsugumi walked to the defeated Tamma and helped him up. Then the blonde girl whispered to him:

"I don't know how, I don't know when, but this guy has got to go! I can't stand his presence anymore!"

"I know, but what can we do? The Proof has chosen him." Tamma responded.

"Let's hope we'll find a way, Tamma-chan…"

Meanwhile at the hot springs, as Subaru and Blane were spending their night watching TV after a good and relaxing bath, someone knocked at their door.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." Subaru said as he got up from the bed.

The black haired teenager walked to the door and once he opened it, he saw a tall and muscular boy around his age with messy black hair and a large red jacket. He also had an R mark on his forehead.

"Shubham? What are you doing here?" Subaru asked while sweating.

"I am no longer Shubham, Subaru Geki. You may call me Raiden!" the mysterious figure introduced himself.

Back at the UFO, it was bedtime. All of the lights were off and its inhabitants were asleep. However, Tamma was sneaking into the kitchen once again looking for goodies to eat at his midnight snack.

"Stupid Honda and his ghost stories. Just who does he think is going to fall for those fairy tales?" Tamma spoke to himself while taking out of the fridge a bottle of milk and a box of cookies.

All of a sudden, the boy head footsteps coming from the hallway. He slowly approached the opened door of the kitchen and when he took a good look at it, he saw that nobody was there. The corridor was dark and empty.

"Is anybody there?" Tamma asked but received no response. "I guess my mind must be playing tricks."

But then the footsteps returned once again and they became faster and faster. When Tamma took another look at the corridor, he saw two shining pale bare feet running towards him. The boy widened his eyes and when he saw a figure about the same size as his approaching him, he screamed as loud as he could.


	30. Cursed night at the haunted UFO

Tamma's screams were heard in the whole UFO and very soon Luna, Tiger, Tsugumi and Honda ran out of their rooms and met up in the hall. The lights got turned on by the new chosen darkness duelist as they looked around to see what was going on.

"What's with those screams?" Tiger asked.

"It sounded like Tamma." Luna pointed out.

"Oh my God, let's check if he's alright!" Tsugumi suggested and was about to rush towards the source of the scream.

"It's too late for that." Honda spoke calmly.

"Huh? What do you mean it's too late?" Tsugumi asked.

"The ghost caught him."

Hearing that from Honda, the other four chosen duelists got shocked.

"W-what ghost are you talking about?" Luna asked.

"See for yourself." Honda replied and pointed at the floor on which there were green footmarks. "The ghost that went after him was one that loved running if we look closer at these marks. It's probably Datto."

"Hah, nonsense, everybody knows ghosts aren't real!" Tiger dismissively said.

"Scientifically, there hasn't been any proof of supernatural entities such as spirits, but that doesn't exclude the possibility of their existence!" Luna countered while putting her glasses on. "I think I will have to analyze these marks to see their source."

"Alright, I'll stay with her, in the meantime, you two go and check if Tamma's alright." Honda said.

Tiger and Tsugumi nodded and headed in the direction of the footmarks. Now Honda and Luna were all alone. The blue haired girl took out a small glass tube and used it to put inside some of the green matter out of which the footsteps were made.

"I will take this to my room and analyze it. It seems like it might be ectoplasm but I have to be sure." Luna said while looking at the tube filled with the green liquid.

"You know, Luna, there is something that had been bugging me recently." Honda confessed.

"And what might that be, Honda?"

"Well, you do know that your room is the third on the corridor, right?"

"Yes it is, but what is so wrong about that?"

"Well, Luna, there was this story I heard some time ago." Honda spoke with his calm and low voice. "It was about a little Japanese girl named Hanako that died when the Americans attacked Japan in World War Two. She was playing hide and seek with her friends and hid in the girls' bathroom. That was when the school got bombed and she died then and there. Legend has it that Hanako haunts the third bathroom stall in each building and whenever some fool would dare to enter her territory, she would ask them if they wanted red paper or blue paper."

"And what happens if one picks one of those two options?" Luna asked.

"If they pick red paper, she will drain their whole blood out of their body; if they pick blue paper, she will strangle them until their face turns blue and they die of asphyxiation."

"But what if they pick another color?"

"Oh… Then she will pull them into the toilet down to hell. Simple as that."

"Haha, good one Honda. However, so far science hasn't shown any evidence of poltergeist activity, so I don't believe that Hanako exists!"

"Believe what you want, Luna. However, if what came after Tamma was Datto, then I think that your bathroom might be Hanako's territory." Honda said and began to walk away. "Just saying…"

"Nice try, Honda, but you can't scare rational people such as me." Luna said to herself.

There was no sign of Tamma to be found in the kitchen. On the other hand, there was a broken glass of milk and some cookies on the floor and that was where the footmarks stopped. Tsugumi and Tiger were inspecting the kitchen to see if there were any signs of the red haired child. However, Honda soon appeared in the room and surprised them by suddenly speaking to them while they had their backs turned:

"Looking for something?"

Both Tsugumi and Tiger burst out with fear and turned to find the sneaky Honda at the door. Sighing with relief, Tiger replied to him:

"Yes, we're trying to find Tamma."

"From the looks of it, Datto probably attacked him here." Honda suggested. "Heh, if that's so, you should find his slashed feet somewhere close!"

"Shut up, don't even think about that!" Tsugumi shouted at him.

"Hey, he's probably hiding in his room." Tiger brought up. "Let's go check!"

"Tsugumi, you go ahead and do that. I have something to discuss with Tiger." Honda said.

At first the girl didn't want to do what the darkness duelist was saying, but then Tiger nodded his head to her meaning that he was alright with staying. The blonde girl conformed and walked out of the kitchen. Now that the two were alone, Honda walked to the four candles and blew off another one, leaving two left. Afterwards he sat at the table as Tiger kept looking in the kitchen for clues of Tamma's presence.

"You know, Tiger, there has been something strange happening in the UFO that has made me worried." Honda spoke with concern.

"And what might that be?" Tiger asked while looking in the drawers.

"The fact that there I've seen a strange grey rabbit with red eyes running around in the corridors. And if I remember correctly, there was this story about the ghost of a rabbit that matched that description."

"Ghost of a rabbit? Haha, now that's a good one! And what exactly does this story say?"

Tiger turned back to Honda and sat at the table to listen to the story. Smiling, Honda put his elbows on the table, united his hands and put his chin on them. Afterwards he began narrating the story with his calm and low voice:

"There was once a school pet keeper called Mio. This girl had a rabbit called Shirotabi which she cared for a lot. However, one day the rabbit died and she was devastated. Not wanting a new rabbit to replace the old one, she performed a black magic ritual at Shirotabi's grave one night and the next day the rabbit was brought back to life. The animal recognized her and their old happy days returned. But little did Mio know that the black magic spell she had cast upon the rabbit's corpse also awakened its dark side. Whenever night would fall, Shirotabi would turn into a demon and escape its cage looking for prey. One day Mio could not find Shirotabi anymore and its cage was destroyed, its entire fellow rabbits dead. The demon had disappeared, never to be seen by her again. Story has it that on full moon nights such as this one, Shirotabi is haunting the streets in its original animal form and whoever meets him will never escape alive."

To conclude the story, Honda blew on another candle, leaving just one out of the four still burning.

"Hah, that's all?" the unimpressed Tiger asked.

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you my concern." Honda responded.

"Fine, then I think I should go and join Tsugumi. See you later!"

Tiger got up from his chair and walked out of the room. But little did he know that Honda was staring at him with his vile grin and mean looking eyes.

"Hehehe, perfect! Three down and a last one to go!" Honda silently spoke.

Meanwhile at Luna's room, the blue haired girl had had her computer scan the green matter and was waiting for the machines to analyze it. During that time she was browsing the Internet looking for information regarding the ghosts of Datto and Hanako. But soon her intestines began to growl. The girl got up from the bed and said to herself:

"Alright, enough study, it's time to go to the bathroom!"

Luna walked into the bathroom of her room and turned on the lights. Afterwards she pulled down her blue skirt and her white underwear and sat on the toilet. The girl looked at the ceiling trying to relax her mind when she head a little girl's voice say:

"Red paper or blue paper?"

"Hehe, I must be hearing things." Luna whispered to herself.

As much as she wished for that to be true, a little girl dressed in a pink uniform with short green hair and green eyes appeared in front of her and cheerfully repeated:

"Red paper or blue paper?"

"W-what?!" Luna exclaimed and sweated. "This must be… Hanako…"

Then the little girl's eyes turned red and an evil smile appeared on her face. The bathroom door closed and was followed by Luna's screams.

During that time, Tiger was walking all by himself heading to Tamma's room. But as he was approaching it, he heard some footsteps coming from behind. He instinctively stopped and turned around with his arms ready for fight only to find that there was nobody behind him. In the next moment a grey rabbit with red eyes appeared in the corridor and hopped quickly towards him.

"What the… A rabbit? Could it be Shirotabi?" Tiger asked.

Just as it was a few feet away from him, the rabbit suddenly grew in size and turned into a giant black and red demon with a large mouth that had sharp yellow teeth. The creature jumped at Tiger and he screamed so loud that it echoed in the whole corridor.

At Tamma's room, Tsugumi heard the screams while she was searching for the chosen fire duelist under the bed. The girl got up and rushed out of the room only to find nothing in the whole hallway.

"Tiger… That must've been him!" Tsugumi said worried.

Suddenly the lights everywhere in the spaceship turned off. Everything was dark but then Tsugumi saw a small light approaching her. The girl prepared herself for the worse but soon saw that it was just Honda holding the support with four candles out of which only one was still burning.

"Honda, where are the others?" Tsugumi asked.

"Who knows… maybe the ghosts got them." Honda ironically said.

In the next moment Tsugumi grabbed Honda and pushed him against a wall while saying:

"Listen here, pal, I don't have time for your jokes! You better tell me where my friends are, or else!"

"If I knew, I would've told you by now." Honda innocently replied. "Thank goodness I found you, though."

"How so? What's the matter?" Tsugumi asked while letting go of Honda.

"This power cut isn't a normal one. There is a supernatural force behind it." Honda explained.

"And how do you know?"

"Well I did hear once a story about a ghost named Babasare, if you'd like to hear it."

"I'm listening."

"Alright." Honda changed his voice to his usual narrating voice. "It has been said that there was this evil spirit that looked like the Grim Reaper in almost every way. It resembled an old lady wielding a scythe and dressed in a black robe with a hood. This ghost known as Babasare feeds off the fear of people, especially little children. What it would usually do is go and knock at the doors of houses in which the parents were gone. Babasare would cut off the electricity and phone lines so that the child would pay attention to its knocking. And if the child would ask 'Who is there?' Babasare would change its voice to that of kid's parents or relatives to trick him. The kid would open the door and Babasare would kill him with its scythe."

In the next moment Honda blew off the light of the last candle, thus bringing total darkness to the UFO.

"Why did you do that for, idiot?! How do you expect us to see now?" Tsugumi asked frustrated.

All of a sudden, both heard loud knocks coming from the entrance door of the UFO.

"What was that?!" Tsugumi burst out.

"That must be Babasare." Honda hypothesized.

"Nonsense, these 'ghost stories' are made up to scare little kids! How could you actually believe them, Honda?"

"If that's so then why you don't check and see who is at the door, huh?"

"Actually, you know what, that's what I will do!"

Tsugumi turned to the direction of the door and headed to it slowly while holding both her hands on the wall to realize where she was heading. As she approached it, the door knocks were getting faster almost as if the one outside was getting really impatient. When the blonde girl put her hand on the button to open the door, she suddenly stopped and spoke loudly:

"Who's there?"

A red light shined outside and entered the UFO through the lower side of the door.

"It's me, Subaru! I've come home, darling! Please open!" Subaru's voice resounded.

"Huh? Subaru?" Tsugumi asked and then she shouted happily. "I missed you so much!"

"She's way more gullible than I've imagined." Honda thought.

When Tsugumi opened the door, instead of getting embraced by her lover she had the shock of seeing an old woman dressed in black robes and holding a scythe shriek at her. The blonde girl fell on her back and screamed in fear.

Meanwhile at the hot spring hotel, Subaru and Raiden were facing each other in a kaijudo duel at Subaru's and Blane's room. Subaru had all of his shields intact, whereas Raiden had four shields left. Subaru had no creatures in the battle zone but one of his shields fortified with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, whereas Raiden had Codename Hungry Elegance.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Subaru said and then he put another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card from his deck into the graveyard. "Since Galaxy Falcon makes all of my Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born from my graveyard, thus reviving a second Zero Romanoff! With his effect I put a third Zero Romanoff in the graveyard. And now, Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest fired its yellow laser guns upon Raiden's shields, taking down two of them. However, both shields quickly turned into cards that he showed to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy your untapped Zero Romanoff! Also, shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send your tapped Zero Romanoff to the mana zone!"

"Oh no!" Subaru exclaimed as both of his creatures disappeared and their respective cards landed in his graveyard and in the mana zone.

"And now it's my turn, using Codename Hungry Elegance's effect I now summon Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" from my mana zone!" Raiden said and the card bounced from his mana zone and landed in the battle zone.

A blue and green demon with two laser guns on its back appeared behind Raiden and roared loudly at Subaru.

"When I summon Radio Roses, I may draw five cards and you on the other hand will discard five cards!" Raiden said and then he watched how Subaru fearfully discarded Deepsea Typhoon and Miracle Re Born from his hand. "Now go, Codename Hungry Elegance, double break his shields!"

The rocky giant with a huge mouth on its belly swung its rocky sword and took down two of Subaru's shields, one of which was fortified with his Galaxy Falcon fortress.

"And now I end." Raiden announced.

"This isn't over yet!" Subaru declared. "I fortify another one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress! And then I summon Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon!"

A red dragon wielding a white sword and dressed in a samurai armor that didn't cover his chest and revealed the X scar it had there appeared behind Subaru.

"Galaxy Falcon makes him a speed attacker, so I now attack with Sword Flash Dragon, break his final shields!" Subaru ordered and the dragon roared and jumped at Raiden, taking down his last shields with its sword.

"Hahaha, perfect!" Raiden laughed and immediately showed the two cards to Subaru once the attack was finished. "Shield trigger activate, I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit! Also, shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Olzekia, General of Decapitation! With its effect I destroy Princess Cub and your Dragon!"

A black demon with a skull as its lower body part appeared in the room and used its swords to slash the little bear cub that belonged to Shubham and the Armored Dragon that belonged to Subaru.

"Why are you doing this, Shubham? I thought you betrayed Kaizer!" Subaru shouted.

"Betray Kaizer-sama? Fool, my name is Raiden and my only purpose is to serve Kaizer until the end of time!" Raiden declared.

"Something's happened to him, he's not the same." Blane said.

"You're right, but what could that be?" Subaru replied.

"And now to finish this! Radio Roses, break his final shields!" Raiden ordered and the demon fired lasers from both of its guns and took down Subaru's last three shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Codename Hungry Elegance back to your hand!" Subaru said and then a blue surfer appeared in the room and hit the giant with its surfboard, making it disappear.

"Hah, is that all you've got?"

"I'm afraid yes…"

Raiden then burst into a maniacal laughter that brought shivers down both Subaru's and Blane's spines. Then he turned to the former chosen darkness duelist with a psychotic look on his face and said:

"You were too easy, Subaru Geki! And here I thought that you could pose a challenge! But don't worry; I'm sure your friends will. Too bad you won't be around to see me annihilate them!"

"You leave my friends out of this, you monster!" Subaru yelled.

"Olzekia, General of Decapitation, todomeda!" Raiden ordered and the demon used both its swords to attack Subaru.

In the next moment Subaru was lying defeated on the floor with his cards all over him. Blane rushed to see if he was alright and in the meantime Raiden walked out of the room and disappeared as sudden as he came.

"Subaru, are you alright?! Speak to me!" Blane begged.

"B-Blane…" Subaru barely spoke while opening his eyes. "We've got to go back to the UFO… before something bad happens…"

Before Subaru could finish his sentence, he collapsed unconscious. Blane held his right hand tightly and then he looked at the night sky while saying:

"Don't worry, I promise you that tomorrow we'll be back. And that Raiden will be sorry for what he did!"

Back at the UFO, Tsugumi managed to get up on her feet and run away from the ghost.

"Honda, run quickly before it gets us!" Tsugumi yelled.

However, the girl soon noticed that Honda didn't follow her. When she turned her back she saw that the red light was still at the UFO's door and that Babasare flew past Honda and headed for her.

"Wait a minute, now I get it!" the girl realized.

Tsugumi ran back at Honda and passed Babasare that tried to slash her with her scythe. Once the blonde girl reached the white haired boy, she punched him in the face and made him fall out of the UFO and land on the cold snow.

"It's your fault!" Tsugumi shouted. "It's because of you that the UFO is haunted!"

"Hehehe, you're smarter than I expected, Tsugumi." Honda laughed and got up from the snow. "Yes, you're right; I was the one who conjured up those ghosts."

"But why? Why would you do this to your own teammates?"

"You see, my ghosts needed a refill for they didn't have a good prey for some time. And what better way to refill themselves if not through your fear?"

Then out of the UFO came a young red eyed brown haired boy dressed in white sports clothes and that was running barefoot. He was followed by a little green haired green eyed girl in a pink dress, a grey rabbit with red eyes and an old woman in black robes with a scythe in her right hand.

"Meet my friends – Datto, Hanako, Shirotabi and Babasare!" Honda introduced the ghosts. "But you might know them as someone else!"

All of a sudden the ghosts began to morph and changed their appearances. Datto turned into Melkomi Tamatama, Hanako turned into Suffocation Cloak, Shirotabi turned into Buchikudaki Food and Babasare turned into Snake Tailcoat. All four ghosts then disappeared into Honda's deck who was laughing evilly.

"I knew you were bad news ever since I saw you!" Tsugumi said and took out her glowing deck.

"Oh? Are you going to duel me? Wow, I'm scared!" Honda mocked her while showing his deck.

Two dueling tables rose from the snow and both players put their decks on them. Both shouted 'Duel start!' and their match began.

"I summon Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding!" Honda said and a blue ghost that wielded a hammer in its right hand and three candles in its left hand appeared behind him.

"I cast Faerie Life and gain another mana!" Tsugumi said.

"Kehehehe, time to slow you down, chosen light duelist! I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation, now all your cards are put in the mana zone tapped! Go, Buchikudaki Food, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

Tsugumi's top card was Gaga Crouton, the Prophet, while Honda's top card was Falconer, Lightfang Ninja. It was 2 VS 3, so Tsugumi lost and Buchikudaki Food's effect activated, the girl discarding Gaga Pikarian from her hand.

"Buchikudaki Food, break her shield!" Honda ordered and the ghost hit one of the girl's shields with its hammer. "I end."

"My turn, I charge mana and cast Shrine of Rebirth! With its effect I put Gaga Pikarian and Faerie Life into my mana zone!" Tsugumi said and then she gladly watched how her mana number increased from 4 to 6. "I end my turn."

"Six mana, huh? There's only one card that could be so useful for you at this number. And in my view, I think that I'll see it in your hand right now!"

"Just what are you babbling there, Honda?"

"I cast Lost Mind Torture!"

Two blue snakes appeared behind Honda and Tsugumi was forced to reveal the cards in her hand which were Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon, Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory and Heaven's Gate. The two snakes bit her Heaven's Gate card and made her discard it.

"Buchikudaki Food, attack and we play Hardcore Judge once again!" Honda ordered.

The top card of Tsugumi's deck was Silver Shovel, and that of Honda's deck was Bega, Vizier of Shadow. It was 4 VS 5, so Tsugumi lost once again and discarded Joan of Arc due to Buchikudaki Food's effect.

"Go, Buchikudaki Food and Time Tripper, break her shields!" Honda ordered and the blue ghost hit another shield of Tsugumi's with its hammer while the fat white ghost with a mouth for a belly jumped and punched another shield with its fists, both breaking to pieces.

"So powerful…" Tsugumi murmured.

"What's the matter? Can't keep up to the sheer awesomeness of me?"

"Wow, you sure are modest!" Tsugumi sarcastically replied while placing Faerie Life tapped in her mana zone. "My turn, I summon Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon! Let's see you pass this – Perfect Madonna cannot leave the battle zone while its power is above 0!"

"A challenge I'll gladly accept! I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!" Honda said and a blue ghost wielding two scythes and dressed in a black cape that had six burning candles hanging on it and a crown with burning candles above its skull head and with a red crystal in its chest appeared behind Honda and screamed at Tsugumi. Then the top four cards of Honda's deck went to the graveyard, those being two Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction, Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy and Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture.

"With Ganaru Scream's effect I take Snake Tailcoat to my hand and end!" Honda said.

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card! Then I summon Iron Arm Tribe and gain one more mana!" Tsugumi said.

"It's time for the fun to begin, chosen light duelist! I cast Inferno Sign and put Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy into the battle zone from the graveyard! Suffocation Cloak's effect gives -3000 to Perfect Madonna, reducing its power below 0!"

Tsugumi watched with amazement how her only blocker blew up, its card going to the graveyard. Now her shields were defenseless in front of Honda's creatures.

"Buchikudaki Food, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" Honda said and both revealed their top cards, Tsugumi having Great Hercules, Giant Insect and Honda having Lost Mind Torture. "Tsh, 6 VS 4, you won this one. Still, Buchikudaki Food, break her shield! Time Tripper, break her final shield!"

Tsugumi took cover as both creatures broke her last two shields. However, as the shield shards united into cards, one of them shined with a bright light in the dark of the night. The girl got up and showed the card to her opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all of your creatures!"

A light beam that had the shape of a helix fell upon Honda's dueling table and tapped his Ganaru Scream and Suffocation Cloak cards. Afterwards the same light gave Tsugumi a new shield.

"Tsh, you got lucky!" Honda said.

"And now it's time to teach you some manners!" Tsugumi replied while putting a light card upon another in her battle zone. "I evolve Gaga Pikarian into Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Servant Spirits! Now you can't cast any spells as long as you don't have an Alien in the battle zone!"

"Heh, nice trick."

"Go, Gaga Alcadeias, destroy Buchikudaki Food! Then Iron Arm Tribe suicide with Time Tripper!"

The golden armored angel with black wings and a black head that had a shining red X instead of eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth fired a purple lightning from its right hand and destroyed the blue ghost. Then the green horse like warrior jumped at the fat white ghost and both struggled until they blew up. However, that didn't intimidate Honda a bit. He simply drew his next card, charged mana and said:

"It's time I ended this! Ganaru Scream, evolve into Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!"

The black caped blue ghost got surrounded by a purple aura and transformed into a a goat skulled ghost dressed in a red tailcoat out of which two snakes were coming. A candle appeared between Snake Tailcoat's hands which got lit.

"This candle represents your life, Tsugumi, and it ends tonight!" Honda said while tapping one of his cards. "Suffocation Cloak, break her final shield!"

A green eyed black ghost wearing a red cape and a white knight helmet on its head that had a lit candle in its top attacked Tsugumi's last shield with a shovel and broke it to pieces. Sadly for the girl, she got no shield triggers. That was when Snake Tailcoat blew off the light from the candle.

"Your time is up, chosen light duelist! Snake Tailcoat, get her!" Honda ordered.

What followed next were Tsugumi's screams of horror.


	31. Demon VS Ghost

When Tsugumi opened her eyes, she saw that she was back in her room lying on her bed. The last thing she could remember was Snake Tailcoat attacking her and then everything went dark. The girl jumped out of her bed and ran out of the room into the corridor where saw the sun's rays coming through the windows.

"I'm alive…" Tsugumi said while looking at her hands. "But how? Snake Tailcoat killed me."

"Fool, Snake Tailcoat didn't kill you!" a male voice spoke behind her.

Tsugumi turned back and saw Honda sitting against the wall with his deck in his right hand staring at the sun.

"You! What the hell are you up to?!" Tsugumi shouted.

"So how was it last night? Did you have fun being scared?" Honda arrogantly asked.

"Why you little!" the blonde girl burst and ran towards Honda to punch him.

The white haired boy simply dodged her left fist and grabbed her right one with his left hand. He gave her his usual vile smile and said:

"Don't worry, the others are alright. They're all sleeping in their rooms."

"What do you want from us?" Tsugumi asked.

"Power! I want the power I deserve!" Honda answered and let the blonde girl stunned. "Now that my Ghosts had all grown in power, it is time for me, Honda, to get the power of the chosen darkness duelist, the power of Dorballom!"

"Dorballom?"

"Yes, Tsugumi, as the chosen darkness duelist I need my chosen card which is none other than the mighty Dorballom, Lord of Demons. Once I have him in my hands, I will build the ultimate Demon Command/Ghost deck and then nobody will be able to stop me!"

Tsugumi got even more disgusted of Honda than ever before. She made a few steps back from the boy that had a face that showed nothing but power hunger.

"You're not a chosen duelist…" Tsugumi mumbled. "We are supposed to be heroes, to love and protect the world, not reach out for power!"

"Well all that 'love' crap is now gone with me in charge!" Honda replied. "I will make sure that you all work hard to become at least a bit as strong as me, and then with our power we will be able to take down anyone that stands in our way!"

Honda got surrounded by a dark purple aura and then Snake Tailcoat appeared once again behind him. The creepy darkness duelist approached the scared light duelist that was slowly backing down. There was no doubt about it, the new chosen duelist was a madman, and what was worse was that his teammates couldn't stop him. Tsugumi walked back until she ended against a wall, but Honda and Snake Tailcoat were just a few feet away from her.

"Now are you going to take me to Dorballom?" Honda demanded but received no response. "If not, then I will let Snake Tailcoat have some fun with you until you agree to!"

"NO!" Tsugumi yelled and closed her eyes while trembling.

"Not so fast, pal!" a familiar male voice shouted.

Honda and Snake Tailcoat immediately stopped and both turned to the opened main entrance of the UFO to find a teenage boy around Honda's age with brown eyes, black hair long to his shoulders that was wearing dark blue jeans and a black T shirt with the darkness civilization symbol on.

"And just who are you?" Honda asked.

"Subaru!" Tsugumi shouted happily upon seeing her lover return.

"Subaru? You mean you're the ex-chosen darkness duelist?"

Subaru did not answer Honda, but instead he entered the spaceship, making his right hand surrounded by a purple aura. He took out his deck and fixed his eyes on the white haired boy. What annoyed Honda besides not receiving an answer was how calm Subaru was, almost as if he was made of ice. And to make matters worse, Honda also felt a strong aura of darkness coming from him, almost as if he was a creature belonging to that civilization.

"Hey punk, I asked you a question!" Honda impatiently said.

"And your answer is right here, Honda!" Subaru replied and showed his deck.

"How did he know my name? He wasn't present in the UFO until now!" Honda thought. "Just how dare he come in my place and challenge me as if I was some random guy? No, I'll teach this poseur to not mess with me!"

Honda's deck began to glow as bright as Subaru's and then two metallic dueling tables rose from the floor. Both put their decks on them and set their cards while staring in each other's eyes. While in Honda's eyes Subaru could see hate and frustration, in Subaru's eyes Honda could see nothing but calm which began to annoy him by each second that passed.

"Come on, Subaru, I know you can do it! Defeat this freak!" Tsugumi cheered.

"You shut up! Once I'm done with him you're next!" Honda threatened.

"I charge mana and end." Subaru began the game by placing Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist in his mana zone.

"Oh? You decided to start while I was talking to her? Fine, I'll be second!" Honda conformed and drew his next card, setting Bega, Vizier of Shadow into his mana zone afterwards.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

A black haired teen dressed in a dark blue suit with a large red collar, two black skin gloves on his hands and a rose in his right hand and a pink lollipop in his right hand appeared right next to Subaru. Upon seeing him, Tsugumi approached Subaru's dueling table and put her hands on Atsuto's arms while saying:

"Atsuto, is it really you?!"

"The one and only fabulous strategist!" Atsuto replied while smiling and revealing his shining white teeth.

"But how? You died in the volcano!" Tsugumi brought up.

"Please, I'm too fabulous for the world of the dead! And besides, Tabitha's curse tied my spirit to the card which means that I now belong to the creature world. Fabulous, right?"

"He offered to become my deck's second avatar." Subaru added. "Which means that we'll be seeing him a lot."

"Enough with the family reunions, we've got a duel here!" Honda interrupted them.

"Alright, time to make some fabulous stuff!" Atsuto said and then he drew the top two cards of Subaru's deck, put them in his hand and then he selected Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger from Subaru's hand and put them both in his graveyard. "Fabulous choice, isn't it?"

"It sure is. Anyway, I end my turn!" Subaru announced.

"Tsh, clown." Honda murmured while placing DNA Spark in his mana zone. "I end."

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

A bird of fire with sunglasses on its forehead appeared above Subaru and chirped happily. Subaru tapped his multicolored card and said:

"Atsuto, break his shield!"

The fabulous duel hero jumped in the air and made a kung fu move with his foot that took down one of Honda's shields. The white haired duelist smiled evilly as he put Lost Soul in his mana zone and tapped all three cards.

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction and end my turn!"

A blue ghost with two candles on its shoulders that had chains with snake mouths coming out of its back appeared behind Honda.

"He's slow; I suggest we finish him fast!" Atsuto whispered to Subaru.

"No, I think he wants us to take down his shields. We'll proceed with caution, no more reckless attacking… yet." Subaru whispered back.

"What are you two planning behind my back?" Honda angrily asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all!" Subaru said and then he put Hades Death Gate to his mana zone and ended his turn.

"Very well, it's time to spoil your plans! I cast Lost Mind Torture!"

Honda's card shined powerfully and two blue snakes appeared behind him and forced Subaru to reveal his hand. The two cards in his hand were both Miracle Re Born and the black haired duelist had to discard them both much to his dismay.

"Hahaha, perfect!" Honda laughed. "And to make matters worse for you, Batou Shoulder makes your spells cost 2 more now!"

"Crap!" Subaru thought.

"Not fabulous…" Atsuto commented.

"Also, Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!" Honda continued and a ghostly night riding on a cloud horse and wielding a spear appeared next to Batou Shoulder.

Subaru drew his next card which was Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress. It was useless to him in that situation, so he put it in his mana zone, increasing the number from 4 to 5 and ended his turn.

"Oh no, Honda has blocked Subaru!" Tsugumi said.

"With two Miracle Re Born in the graveyard, his main strategy has gone down the hill!" Atsuto added.

"Which means that it's time to have fun!" Honda declared. "I summon Bega, Vizier of Shadow and put the top card of my deck to my shields!"

To make matters worse for Subaru, his next card was Bone Dance Charger. The black haired boy sighed and placed it into his mana zone to increase the number once again. Afterwards he ended his turn and Honda laughed evilly.

"Hahaha, this is my predecessor? He's awful, just awful!" Honda said. "I can't believe that a loser like you could save the world so many times!"

"Don't speak of my love like that, you freak!" Tsugumi warned Honda. "Even if he might be weaker than you, he has something that you will never have, and that something makes him more worthy of the chosen duelist title than you!"

"Hah, and what might that be?"

"He cares for those around him! And as long as you care only about yourself, Honda, you will never be able to be a hero!"

"Bullshit, all you need to defeat evil is power, and soon I will have plenty of that! Anyway, I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!" Honda said and a blue ghost wielding two scythes and dressed in a black cape that had six burning candles hanging on it and a crown with burning candles above its skull head and with a red crystal in its chest appeared behind him and screamed at his opponent.

With Ganaru Scream's effect, the top four cards of Honda's deck went to his graveyard, those being Inferno Sign, Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint, Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy and Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture. Honda returned Melkomi Tamatama to his hand and ended his turn.

Subaru drew yet another useless card – Deepsea Typhoon – which he put into his mana zone and then he ended his turn once again.

"It's time to lock you down for good!" Honda declared. "I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation and Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding!"

"Oh no, his battle zone is full of Ghosts! Subaru is done for!" Atsuto said worried.

"This isn't over yet!" Subaru assured them and then his hand glowed once again with a purple aura.

"Hah, your magic tricks don't scare me!" Honda announced.

"But this probably will!"

Subaru drew his next card and then all seven mana cards tapped themselves as he revealed a darkness creature card which he put on the table while saying:

"I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V appeared in the battle zone by Subaru's side and roared at Honda.

"Ah, the infamous Raion!" Honda exclaimed. "Sadly he doesn't look as menacing as I heard he is."

"Oh no? Then what if I do this?" Raion asked and began to slash the creatures in the battle zone, destroying all except for himself, Ganaru Scream and Bega.

However, between Raion's victims was Atsuto, but he accepted his fate and returned to the card, knowing that he would meet his friends again soon.

"Thanks for the help, Raion!" Subaru said and showed a thumb up to the creature.

"Anytime, master!" Raion replied and winked to him.

"Time to end this!" Honda declared and placed a card upon another on the table. "I evolve Ganaru Scream into Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!"

A goat skulled ghost dressed in a red tailcoat out of which two snakes were coming appeared behind Honda as a hologram and lit a candle that floated between its arms.

"Prepare to meet your doom, you pathetic excuse for a chosen duelist!" Honda threatened.

"Subaru, I don't like that guy one bit!" Raion said to his master.

"Me neither, but let's hope we'll come through!" Subaru replied to his avatar.

"Attack, Snake Tailcoat, and make him witness your power!" Honda ordered and then he tossed Melkomi Tamatama to his graveyard. "Destroy Liger Blade and double break his shields!"

The two snakes bit Raion's shoulders and made the lion roar in pain as it blew up. Afterwards Snake Tailcoat fired a wave of darkness from its hands which destroyed two of Subaru's shields.

"Shield trigger, I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and discarded Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon.

"Bega, break his shield!" Honda ordered.

Now Subaru had two shields left while Honda had two creatures that could finish him off the next turn. Still, that didn't scare him off. He knew that if he even showed to his opponent that smallest sign of fear, he would be in disadvantage. Subaru put Aqua Surfer into his mana zone and then he tapped all eight cards and put the two cards from his hand onto the table while saying:

"I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress and I also summon Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

A shark-like humanoid made of water with a sharp blue armor, two blades for arms, yellow dragon wings and a crystal surfboard appeared behind Subaru and screeched at Honda.

"Send his creatures back, Snipy!" Subaru ordered and Aqua Naruto Surfer hit both Snake Tailcoat and Bega with its blades, making them disappear, their cards going back to Honda's hand. "And since Galaxy Falcon makes Snipy a speed attacker, I now break one of your shields with Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

The creature surfed through the air and broke one of Honda's shields with its surfboard. The shield shards turned into a card which Honda took to his hand and then he started his turn.

"I summon Bega, Vizier of Shadow and gain a shield." Honda said and smiled at Subaru as another shield appeared in the place where the previous was broken.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and drew two cards, discarding Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. "Then I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Bega! Also, I revive Super Go On Pippi! Go, Aqua Naruto Surfer, break a shield! Super Go On Pippi, break another shield!"

Honda stared angrily at the two cards he got from his shields – Lost Mind Torture and DNA Spark. They were useless to him since he had three shields left and Subaru had no cards in his hand.

"Tsh, I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!" Honda said and put four more cards into his graveyard, those being Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction, Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding and Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy. "I return Melkomi Tamatama to my hand and end."

"Tsh…" Subaru murmured as he drew Deepsea Typhoon and placed it in his mana zone. "I attack with Aqua Naruto Surfer and Super Go On Pippi, break his shields!"

Honda watched how the two creatures broke his shields, but as he got the cards in his hand, he showed one of them to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and gain another shield!"

A light that had the shape of a helix fell upon Honda's table and made a new shield appeared above the white haired duelist.

"I evolve Ganaru Scream into Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!" Honda said and his terrifying ghost reappeared. "Get ready for hell, you prick! Snake Tailcoat, attack and I discard Melkomi Tamatama to destroy Naruto Surfer! Now… break his final shields!"

Snake Tailcoat laughed devilishly as its snakes devoured Snipy and its wave of darkness took down Subaru's last two shields. The black haired duelist took cover as the shields were broken and expected the worst. Sadly for him, there was no miraculous shield trigger that would offer him an escape. The cards he got from his shields were Super Go On Pippi and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. However, he felt a wave of darkness pulsating from his deck. He realized that the next card he was going to draw would be something big, so he slowly drew it and once he saw it he put Liger Blade into his mana zone and spoke to Honda:

"I heard you like ghost stories."

"As a matter of fact, I do. I scared your friends with them last night like no tomorrow!" Honda proudly said.

"Then do you care to listen to one of my tales?" Subaru asked.

"Hah, bring it on!"

"Very well." Subaru changed his voice to a narrating one. "Once in a house from Arkansas, USA, a group of troubled teenagers made a satanic ceremony with the intention of conjuring up demons. They didn't really accomplish that, but they did open a portal for the creatures of the other world. When a family moved to that house, they started seeing ghosts of children but none would hurt them. However, once the mother and her daughter had a car accident, they would see a figure dressed in black robes on the road. That same figure kept appearing in their house, causing more paranormal activities. When they asked for specialists' help, they used an Ouija board and found out that the one causing that was a demon named Seth. That demon was so strong that even ghosts feared it. No exorcist was able to get rid of him and even now he still haunts that house."

"And what's so scary about that?" Honda asked.

All of a sudden, a being dressed in black robes that matched Subaru's description appeared behind the black haired duelist. Honda felt chills going down his spine and Snake Tailcoat began to back down looking scared. The demon fired a wave of darkness from its right hand that immediately destroyed Honda's ghost.

"N-no! That's impossible! It's Seth!" Honda shouted fearfully.

"My, my, the mighty ghost user is scared! How sad, haha!" Subaru laughed.

The creature then took off its robes and grew in size, becoming almost as big as the corridor. That's when Honda saw that the one that scared him was in fact Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons.

"But how?" Honda asked.

"I just evolved Super Go On Pippi into Ballom Hunter. And it seems that even the scariest villains have their own fears as I have just proven!" Subaru slyly replied.

"Why you…"

"Ballom Hunter, break his final shields!"

Listening to Subaru's order, Ballom Hunter roared and slashed Honda's last two shields with his sword. The shield shards quickly turned into two cards which the white haired duelist took to his hand and looked at with disappointment. Those were Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation. Not even the next card that he drew was good.

"What's the matter, Honda? I thought you were better than me!" Subaru mocked.

"Shut up!" Honda yelled. "I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"Newcomers these days simply can't take a loss. That's sad." Subaru sighed and then he showed two cards to his opponent. "I summon Super Go On Pippi and cast Inferno Sign! With its effect I revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! Then with Zero Romanoff's effect I put another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the graveyard. Also, Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers!"

"Oh no, this can't be!" Honda exclaimed as Subaru tapped his card.

"Go, Zero Romanoff, attack and cast Miracle Re Born! With its effect I revive a second Zero Romanoff and put a third Zero Romanoff into the graveyard! Now go, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!"

"Then I attack with my second Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born, and put the third Zero Romanoff into the battle zone! With its effect… I put a Miracle Re born to the graveyard. Now finish him, todomeda!"

"Ninja strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn it into a blocker! Block that attack, Falconer!"

It was over for Honda. His entire defense was wasted and Subaru still had two untapped creatures that could attack him. The white haired teen hit the table with his right fist and stared at Subaru with anger while saying:

"This can't be! You can't steal my place!"

"It was never yours to begin with." Subaru replied. "Ballom Hunter, todomeda!"

The goat demon swung his sword in the air and then hit Honda with it making him and his cards fly out of the UFO through the opened entrance door.

Tsugumi hugged Subaru and let her tears fall down on his shirt.

"Welcome back to your home!" Tsugumi greeted him.

"Thanks for such a warm welcome. I'm touched." Subaru joked.

"Don't ever leave again!" Tsugumi continued and tightened her hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too."

While the couple was enjoying their moment together, outside of the UFO the angered Honda was sitting in the snow and picking up his cards while staring at the spaceship with menacing eyes.

"I don't know how, I don't know when, but I will have my revenge! This is not over, Subaru Geki!" Honda declared.

"Are you angry on the chosen duelists?" a feminine voice spoke behind him.

Honda turned around and saw a girl dressed in a big golden armor with sharp spikes. Her long hair was white and she was also wearing a black X shaped mask that was only showing her white eyes.

"Who are you?" Honda demanded.

"The one that will help you get your revenge!" the girl answered.

"Oh really? And how are you going to do that?"

"Join me and together we will bring down the chosen duelists!"

The girl stretched her hand in the air. Honda looked at her for a few moments and then he also turned to the UFO. In the end he made his decision and grabbed the girl's hand, both putting evil grins on their faces.

"You got yourself a deal!" Honda said.

"I am glad to hear that!" the girl replied.

"But seriously now, who are you?"

"My name is Tigra, and from this moment your life will become really interesting!"


	32. The Fall of the Lioness

After Honda was kicked out of the chosen duelist team and UFO, Tsugumi woke up the other three chosen duelists to give them the news of Subaru's return. The five heroes gathered in the kitchen and there Subaru told the others all about his trip to the hot springs with Blane and their encounter with Raiden, Kaizer's new weapon. Then he also heard about the Proof's wish of replacing him and the things that Honda did at the UFO in his absence.

"I still can't believe that someone like him could be chosen to replace me!" Subaru said disgusted.

"We couldn't believe it either, but it was the Proof's will." Tsugumi explained.

"Meh, if you ask me, Honda was more fitting for the job." Tiger said but then he noticed that everyone was giving him weird looks. "What? It was just an opinion…"

"Anyway, why did you come back?" Tamma changed the subject.

"I want to be sure that you guys are alright because Raiden has threatened to hunt down all of you." Subaru said and then he looked at Tsugumi. "I may not be agreeing with the Proof on a lot of stuff, but as long as you guys need me, I'll be here."

"It's good to have you back." Tsugumi smiled at her lover.

"By the way, Tsugumi-chan told us that you left with Blane-san." Luna intervened. "But why didn't he come back with you?"

"Oh don't worry; he should be here any minute…" Subaru assured.

Meanwhile at Kaizer's UFO, Raiden was kneeling in front of his master and giving him the report of his mission.

"The mission was a complete success. Subaru Geki was defeated but not eliminated, as you have requested!"

"Excellent! What about the message?" Kaizer asked.

"It was delivered. And soon the real hunt will begin!" Raiden said with a smile of eagerness.

During that time, at the city, Blane was heading to a hairdresser still wearing his sunglasses and dressed up in a black suit that had dark red flames on its short sleeves. Covering the black suit was a black thick unbuttoned jacket. As he was approaching the building, he felt something strange and immediately stopped. The brown haired teen put his hand on his sword and looked up to the rooftop to find Leona gazing down at him with her usual vile smile. The girl with blonde mane jumped off the roof and fell five levels but she landed on her feet. She was wearing her usual short golden dress but it was covered by a fur jacket that was also unbuttoned.

"Tsh, you didn't get hurt…" Blane remarked.

"You should know very well that we cats have nine lives and we always land on our feet." Leona replied. "So what's with the new outfit? Mister burned eyes decided that it was high time he changed his pajamas?"

"You can't hurt me anymore Leona, I don't care what you say!"

Even though that was what Blane declared, the girl still saw an angered expression on his face which he was trying to hide. Knowing that she could manipulate his anger, she continued mocking him:

"Is that so? But if I can't hurt you, maybe I could hurt your friends."

"Don't you DARE lay a finger on them!" Blane shouted and took out the sword from his sheath.

"Oh, that's right, I won't." Leona replied and blew on her sharp nails. "My friend Raiden will do the job for me, I forgot."

"Raiden… What have you guys done to Shubham?!"

"Kaizer-sama just put him back in line and made him remember who his master is, that's all. Now he has turned into Raiden, Kaizer's number one weapon!"

"So he has turned into Kaizer's puppet. Even so, I won't let him or you hurt my friends!" Blane declared and aimed his sword at Leona.

"Oh really?" Leona taunted, also showing no fear of the sword. "You couldn't protect Subaru from Raiden, let alone yourself from me. You know what? At first I thought it would be fun to kill you, but now I would rather have you watch each and every one of your friends die at the hands of Raiden. Now that's entertainment!"

Not being able to hold his temper anymore, Blane hit the wall of the building he was close by, creating a huge hole. Leona was amused of the boy's anger and decided that she would keep annoying him just for the fun of it.

"Look at you, you're so pathetic. Can't really do a thing to help the chosen duelists, now can you?"

"Stop it! Shut up!" Blane demanded.

"All you do is stalking them ever since you realized you had no chance with me. What's the matter? You want to get laid tonight with a chosen duelist, Blaney?" Leona mocked him and then she showed her tongue.

Blane clenched his left fist and was about to use his right hand to attack Leona with his sword. However he soon realized that she was having fun at his expense and calmed down. The brown haired teen reached his hand to his head and took off his sunglasses. Afterwards he threw them in the air and said to the surprised Leona:

"There's no need to anger myself over you. You're of the past, and from this moment on I am letting my past behind!"

"Oh? Interesting move you made there, but still pathetic!" Leona replied.

When Blane's glasses landed on the ground, he stepped on them intentionally and looked at Leona in the eye. He could see her cold predator-like stare from her blue eyes and she could see the determination in his red and yellow eyes. Then Blane's Eternal Phoenix, Phoenix of the Dragon Flame card came out of his deck and floated in front of its master. The card got surrounded by a red aura and turned into a new fire card that had cost 7 and power 7000+. Suddenly a golden dragon that shined with the glory of the rising sun appeared in front of Blane as a hologram. At its chest it held an orb, one that gave it great power as a command dragon and the creature was also holding two shield-like disks both shaped like arrows and its blue wings were made of electricity.

"EP, is that you?" Blane asked with amazement.

"Yes, master, I have evolved into a creature that would best fit you deck. You may call me Torch." the dragon said to him.

"Alright, let's teach this kitty some manners!"

Torch entered the card that went by the name Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" and Blane slid it in his deck. Then his deck glowed with a bright red aura as he showed it to his opponent. Leona grinned and showed her deck that was glowing with a bright golden aura. Two dueling tables rose from the ground and both put their decks on them and set their cards, thus beginning their match.

Two turns had passed for both sides and none were able to get creatures out yet. When Bane managed to reach three mana, he tapped all cards in his mana zone and put a fire card into the battle zone while saying:

"I summon Cocco Lupia!"

A red fire bird wearing a small crown flied above Blane and chirped happily.

"I've noticed that you've got a Terror Pit in your mana zone. What's the matter? Given up nature for darkness?" Leona asked.

"Yes, in honor of Subaru, the one guy who managed to help me accept the darkness in me." Blane answered.

"How touching. I'll be sure to send him to hell after you!" Leona said while putting a card in her battle zone as well. "I summon Hatchaki!"

"We'll see about that, Leona! I summon Gaial Axel!"

A red dragon with feet made of flame, a fire sword at the end of its tail and a blue X scar on its forehead appeared behind Blane and roared. The duelist smirked at his opponent and said:

"Gaial Axel makes all my other Dragons speed attackers."

"Meh, not impressive." Leona commented while charging mana. "I attack with Hatchaki and put Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom in the battle zone! With Lord Reis' effect I draw a card and now Hatchaki breaks a shield!"

After Leona's creature took down Blane's shield, the shield shards united into a card which went to his hand and which he revealed to the girl while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper! Destroy Lord Reis!"

A pink chainsaw appeared out of nowhere and cut Leona's blocker into half, destroying it. Then Blane began his turn by drawing, charging mana and summoning yet another creature.

"I summon Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon!" Blane said and a red dragon wielding a white sword and dressed in a samurai armor that didn't cover his chest and revealed the X scar it had there appeared behind him. "And since Gaial Axel makes him a speed attacker I now attack with Sword Flash Dragon, take down Hatchaki!"

The dragon cut down Leona's puny creature in an instant and afterwards its card untapped. Blane tapped it and another and continued:

"Sword Flash Dragon, Gaial Axel, break her shields!"

The two dragons obeyed their master's order and used their swords to take down four of Leona's shields. However, the shield shards quickly regenerated into four cards and one of them shined brightly. The girl showed it to Blane and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Codename Oreore Lionel and Osso Leone, Scare Spirit into the battle zone!"

A red armored robotic angel that wielded two swords with the colors of the rainbow and a golden lion angel with two pairs of white wings, no eyes, a green horn in the front of its head and a big mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind the girl.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Muttamegas, Spirit of White Lion!" Leona said and a purple robotic lion with a huge white mane and sharp golden jaws appeared next to her other two lion themed creatures. "Osso Leone, destroy Gaial Axel!"

The golden lion angel roared and jumped at the red dragon, biting its neck and making it scream in pain until it blew up and disappeared.

"Codename Oreore Lionel, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" Leona said and both players revealed the top cards of their decks, Blane having Miracle Re Born and Leona having Yosakoi, Leader of Spirits. "Tsh, 5 VS 4, you won. Still, Oreore Lionel, destroy Sword Flash Dragon!"

The red robotic angel engaged in a sword fight with the samurai dragon and emerged victorious, the dragon having its head cut off and disappearing.

"Hahaha, owned utterly! Your Dragons had all fallen under the might of my Angel Commands! Soon you will follow!" Leona threatened.

"Don't be too sure about that, Leona!" Blane replied and then his hand glowed with a bright red aura as he drew his next card and showed it to his opponent. "I summon Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win"!"

The dragon that had earlier appeared as a vision for Blane now materialized in the kaijudo duel to fight alongside the hero.

"Say hello to my little friend! His name is Torch!" Blane introduced his new avatar.

"Unimpressive! If that's how you plan on winning, then you're the same loser you always were!" Leona reacted. "Anyway, I summon Yosakoi, Leader of Spirits and Murmur, Apostle of Formation! Now attack, Codename Oreore Lionel, and we play Hardcore Judge!"

Blane's top card was Marauder Deis Drive, whereas Leona's top card was Brain Storm. It was 3 VS 2, so once again Blane won Hardcore Judge and Leona's creature's effect didn't activate.

"Codename Oreore Lionel, double break his shields!" Leona ordered and the angel slashed two of Blane's shields with its swords.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Osso Leone!" Blane said and two demonic hands grabbed Leona's creature, smashing it.

"Tsh, I attack with Muttamegas and we play Hardcore Judge once again!"

This time Blane's top card was Super Go On Pippi, whereas Leona's was Codename Build Leone. It was 3 VS 8, so Leona won and Muttamegas' effect activated, she getting a second shield. Then the purple robotic lion with white mane jumped at Blane and broke one of his shields with its paws.

"Time to finish this!" Blane announced once he got the card in his hand. "I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The top two cards of Blane's deck that went into his graveyard were Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed and Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress. Then Blane put the darkness spell into his mana zone and tapped the four remaining untapped mana cards while saying:

"Afterwards I summon Bolshack Superhero! With its effect your Murmur dies!"

"Heh, same for your Cocco Lupia!" Leona countered.

An armored dragon with gray armor, flaming hands and red head with fire hair appeared in the battle zone and spat fire upon both Leona's Murmur and Blane's Cocco Lupia, killing them. Then the brown haired duelist tapped the other fire card on his table and said:

"I attack with Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" and now we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Superspeed Revenge Dragon and Leona's was Energy Stream. It was 5 VS 3 so Blane won.

"And now with Ogre Warrior Kaiser's effect it gets +6000 power, breaks an additional shield and you have to choose one of your blockers and destroy it!" Blane said smiling.

"What? I destroy… Yosakoi." Leona said sweating and watched how her golden lion explode.

"But the best part is that due to Ogre Warrior Kaiser's effect, we play Hardcore Judge until I lose or decide to stop myself!" Blane continued and made Leona's jaw drop. "So let's do it! Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Jajarn Kaiser while the top card of Leona's deck was Codename Oraora Leone. It was 8 VS 7 so Blane had won yet again and Leona had to watch how her mighty Codename Oreore Lionel blew up.

"Ogre Kaiser Warrior "Win", destroy Muttamegas!" Blane ordered and Leona's last standing creature got smashed by the dragon. "And now I end my turn."

Leona was more than shocked. She was mortified. In one turn she had managed to build an army of blockers which were easily wiped out also in one turn. Blane, the guy that she had humiliated back then had now grown more powerful. Did that mean that she was going to lose? No, she couldn't lose! She was Leona, the Lioness, the one who had the power. That's right. She had the power, so there was no point in giving up. She would use that power to her advantage.

"Time for you to meet an old friend, I summon Codename Orewaleo!" Leona said and a golden armored angel with six white wings and green crystals floating around it appeared by Leona's side. "You might remember him. It's because of him that you got your eyes burned."

"No, Leona, it's because of me that my master got hurt and I still feel sorry to this very day!" Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" suddenly spoke to her.

"Torch… you don't have to take the blame on yourself!" Blane intervened. "It's my fault that I underestimated her back then. That was a mistake that I will never repeat again."

"Aw, I can't hold back my tears!" Leona mocked them both.

"I think it's high time someone shut you up!" Blane said while showing a darkness card. "I cast Inferno Sign and revive Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed! And guess what, this baby is a speed attacker!"

"What? Three creatures that can attack me?" Leona thought. "I may be having two shields and a blocker to protect me, but what if…"

"Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win", attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

Blane's top card was Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, while Leona's top card was Aqua Surfer. It was 7 VS 6 which meant that Leona had lost and her Codename Orewaleo was destroyed.

"Go, Torch, break her final shields!" Blane ordered and the golden dragon used its disks to take down Leona's last two shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Counterattacking Silent Spark and tap all of your creatures!" Leona announced and a light fell upon Blane's table and tapped his Bolshack Superhero and Choppaya Dragon.

"Alright, I end my turn." Blane announced.

Leona's situation had gotten worse. She had seven mana and the cards in her hand were Codename Build Leone, Lionel Wind, Aqua Surfer and Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore". Even if Blane returned Choppaya Dragon to his hand and discarded it, he still had Bolshack Superhero and Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" in the battle zone. None of her cards was able to protect her from both. It was over, Leona had lost.

"What's the matter, Leona? Cat got your tongue?" Blane ridiculed her.

"If you know what's best for you…" Leona began to speak while taking a knife out of her dress. "You better keep your mouth shut right now!"

"The roles have reversed, huh Leona? But before you try to murder me like I guess you wanted to do for a long time… tell me, what would your brother think of what you have become?"

Suddenly an image appeared in Leona's mind. It was the image of her as a child being carried on the shoulders of a tall and muscular black haired teenager with red eyes. She was laughing happily and seemed like she was really enjoying the ride.

Returning to the present, Leona clenched her first which got surrounded by a really bright golden aura. Even if she had lost, her kaijudo energy had grown to extreme proportions due to her anger.

"Don't you ever talk about things you know nothing of!" Leona ordered.

In the next moment the blonde girl hit her dueling table with her fist and made a wave of golden energy come out of it and hit Blane, knocking him a few feet away. When Blane got up, he saw that Leona and her cards were gone.

And so another day passed and the sun was once again setting, leaving the dark night to reign upon the city. On the top of a building Leona was sitting against a large antenna and was licking the blood off a knife that she was holding with her right hand. Afterwards she put the weapon back in her dress and stared at her bloodstained hands. Another day, another murder. For her killing people had turned into a necessity. Spilled blood became the air she needed to breathe. And after she was defeated by Blane, she killed three men instead of the usual one man per day. To top it off, she did not even spend her time luring them into darkened alleys where she could catch them in her trap, she simply grabbed whatever lonely man was walking by and pulled him there, killing him on the way. The more the victim struggled, the more determined she was to kill him. The simple action of piercing through their flesh with a knife or some other sharp weapon was calming for her. But when she would use her sharp nails or even her teeth to lacerate their bodies, she felt an incredible pleasure and the superiority she had always longed for. And now, as she was admiring the blood on her hands, a male voice resounded in her head saying:

"_We both have the power, so we hold the others' fates into our hands! It's time we showed them who is in charge!"_

Sighing, the girl closed her eyes and pushed her head against the metallic antenna whispering:

"If only you were here to see what I've become. You would truly be proud."

And so, as the setting sun's rays and the winter wind were both touching her face, the girl began to remember her past, starting from her childhood.

_Leona's parents died in a car accident when she was six years old. Her brother who was ten years older than her was the one who took care of her. Leona's brother was a tall and muscular black haired teenager with red eyes that had his hair in a ponytail and wore gym shirts. His name was Vorugu. For the little blonde girl he was her whole world. They had no aunts, cousins or grandparents to take care of them, meaning that her brother had to work in his spare time so that both of them could survive. It was a hard job, but as long as he was greeted home by his sister with a smile, he was happy. _

_One day as Leona and Vorugu were walking home, they passed by three teenagers that were playing in the park. Two of them were sitting on a table and playing a card game while a third was watching them and judging the moves. _

"_Hey Alex, Carlos, Coby, what are you guys doing?" Vorugu asked while approaching them holding his little sister's hand._

"_Hey dude, we've just discovered this awesome card game called Duel Masters and decided to give it a try." the one that was judging the duel said. "Wanna try it as well?"_

"_Sure, why not?" Vorugu agreed and took a booster pack that his friend offered him._

_And so both siblings got into the game. Vorugu made himself a darkness/fire Hunter deck and Leona a light/water blocker deck. They were still newbies so the three friends had to teach them the basics. However, they caught up fast and in about a year Vorugu was the first out of the quintet to be able to summon a creature in real life._

"_I summon Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger!" Vorugu announced and then a demonic tiger wielding four purple blades materialized behind him towards everyone's amazement._

"_Woah, is that what I think it is?!" Alex exclaimed._

"_Aw, dude, that can't be! Is it really a creature?!" Carlos added with the same surprise._

"_Fantastic, you've managed to summon a creature into our world and turn the match into a kaijudo duel!" Coby commented. "Impressive! This must mean that your powers must be big!"_

"_Powers? Hehe, I'm still kind of new. I've just discovered this recently." Vorugu said to his friends and then he looked at the mighty Demon Command that was returning the stare of curiosity to him. "Still, I swear that I will use this new power of mine for the greater good! I will protect this city and all of its inhabitants from all evil!"_

_Since that day a hero was born. Vorugu would put on a cape and go stop whatever crime was taking place, whether some mugger was trying to rob innocent people or someone was trying to commit rape or murder, the city's hero and his creatures would always be there to put a stop to it. And so in the following years everything went great for Vorugu and his sister. Everyone appreciated the big brother as a hero and would offer them money or food to help them out. Thus they rose from poverty to a modest living. Still, Vorugu did not let his reputation go up to his head, he was still the same nice working male, even if his three friends would brag about him to others just to show how cool they were. As for Leona, she was more than happy to see that her big brother was doing so much good for the world. _

_However, not everything that is great lasts forever. When Leona was fifteen and would enter high school, a strange person dressed in red robes and wielding a silver staff came to the city and with just a glimpse he conjured up powerful darkness and fire creatures that set it on fire. It was a total chaos. Everyone was running for their lives and Vorugu was nowhere to be found. But little did they know that he was using creatures such as Thunder Blade, Liger Blade, Leon Diez and Volg Tiger to try and put down the fires that were started._

"_How the hell could this happen?!" Vorugu uttered while riding his Leon Diez towards the source where the fire was coming from._

_The demonic lion suddenly stopped and gave a ferocious roar. That's when the black haired hero saw a purple phoenix and a huge black dragon wielding a staff come out of the flames. Riding the phoenix was the person in red robes and when he took a better look at him, Vorugu saw that he had purple hair and one of his eyes was yellow while the other blue._

"_Oh? A kaijudo duelist in this city?" the stranger holding a silver staff asked._

"_Who are you and what do you want?" Vorugu straightly asked._

"_Oh well, I don't have time for a fight so I think I'll leave. And I am Rezo, the Red Priest. Remember this name, for I will soon become this world's ruler!" _

_And so Rezo disappeared, leaving Vorugu to take out the fire that the Red Priest had started. After half a day, Vorugu finally managed to put out all the flames. However, half of the city was ruined and there were also victims that had been fatally damaged. Instead of being greeted with the usual cheers from the citizens, he was criticized heavily by the angry crowd who shouted things like:_

"_Why didn't you stop that freak from attacking our city?"_

"_Why didn't you put out the fire earlier?"_

"_Why weren't your creatures helping us and only concerned with the fires?"_

_Not being able to respond to all those shouts, Vorugu simply laid his head down in shame and walked away as the crown booed him. Since that day his life had totally changed. People would avoid him, rumors about him and his creatures would circulate the city, the most predominant being the one that his creatures had lost control and were actually the ones that set the city on fire, he would be insulted whenever he would go in public and to top it off, his own friends would always walk away whenever he approached them. The only one that would offer him any warmth was his sister that was suffering along him. At school Leona would always be mocked due to her brother and she would always defend him and end up fighting with those making fun of them. _

_The situation was becoming worse by each day that passed and after a month of being ostracized by those around him, Vorugu succumbed to his own wounds and analyzed himself. Then he came to a conclusion:_

"_I have the power. I can choose what to do with it. I chose to protect this city. But now they all hate me and think I am some kind of monster. So they are not worthy of my protection! In that case, it's time to teach those ungrateful snobs a lesson!"_

_And so Vorugu became the very thing he had tried to protect his city from: a villain. In that moment he conjured up his strongest creatures: Leon Diez, the Lion King, Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, Gaial Killer Dragon, Gunlord and Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast. He jumped on the right shoulder of Volg Tiger and ordered all creatures to destroy the city and everyone that lived in it. All creatures obeyed and thus the massacre began._

_Even if a month had passed since Rezo's attacks and the city was barely recovering from the previous fires, now the citizens had to put up with the fury of Vorugu and his creatures and it was not a pleasant sight at all. Instead of setting buildings on fire, the mighty creatures were demolishing them and some were even eating alive the humans that they were finding. Vorugu was still sitting on Volg Tiger as he led the attack towards the center of the city. However he saw a bright light shining in front of him and had to cover his eyes. When he felt that the light had weakened, he uncovered them and saw Leona riding on a Codename Orewaleo sitting in front of him and his creature._

"_Brother, what is going on? Why are you doing this?" Leona asked._

"_I'm sick and tired of having to put up with the crap of those ungrateful bastards, sister! I just can't take it anymore!" Vorugu confessed._

"_But this is wrong… you can't just destroy this whole place…"_

"_Why not, Leona? I have the power and you also do!"_

"_The power?"_

"_We both have the power, so we hold the others' fates into our hands! It's time we showed them who is in charge!"_

_Her brother's words made Leona really scared but also confused at the same time. He was right, they both had the power of conjuring creatures into their world, but was it right to use them to destroy other innocent people? Or were they innocent? Those people had ostracized them and treated them like aliens from another planet. It was what they deserved. But she felt like Vorugu was taking everything a little too far._

"_Join me, Leona, and together we can use our power to crush those that stand in our way!" Vorugu said and stretched his hand in the air._

_Before Leona could answer, a laser appeared between the two. Both siblings turned their heads to the source of the laser and saw Alex riding a Gaial Kaiser. Carlos and Coby were not far behind, both coming with their own creatures – Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon and Aqua Attack (BAGOON Panzer). Much towards Vorugu's surprise, they had managed to gain the powers of summoning creatures into the human world as well and they decided to use them to stop him before it was too late. All three dueled him and they proved to be much more skilled in dueling even if he was the first to have managed to bring creatures into the real world. Before anyone knew it, Vorugu lost and was now standing on his knees in front of the three._

"_Please, I beg of you, have mercy!" Vorugu pleaded fearfully._

"_You didn't have mercy on this whole city! Be gone, you monster!" Alex coldly replied._

"_Todomeda!" all three duelists ordered and their creatures attacked the black haired man._

_In just a second Leona saw how her brother had received the three lasers from the creatures. In just a second the one who had taken care of her, the one who was always there for her, the one person that represented the whole world for her was burned alive, his corpse quickly landing at her feet._

_The next day there were a lot of funerals that took place at the city's cemetery. Leona was the only one that took care of her brother's funeral. She was the one who dug the hole in the ground, the one who buried his body, and the one that put a small tombstone next to the grave and left him a bouquet of flowers. However, much to her shock, she saw her brother's three friends come to his grave, each holding a candle in their arms. As they reached it, they began to pray for his soul to forgive them and to finally find peace. Such a sight disgusted her and she immediately shouted at them:_

"_Have you no shame? After all you've done to us, you have the nerve of coming here?!"_

"_Please, Leona, try to understand us!" Coby said._

"_Yeah, it was hard for us all!" Alex added._

"_You shut up! It wasn't hard at all! You all hated him, you wanted him dead!"_

"_No, Leona, that's not true!" Carlos intervened._

"_Yes, we had no choice in that matter!" Coby added._

"_Lies! You were just like him! You had the power and you had him at your mercy. You could have spared him to prove that you were different, but you did exactly what he would have done – you chose to destroy him! What's fair in this? My brother is dead simply because he was on the 'wrong side'!" Leona sobbed and let her tears fall._

"_We're sorry; we didn't mean to do that." Alex said._

"_But we had to; else your brother would have still been a threat to our city!" Carlos added._

"_Please, for everyone's sake, let's just leave this in the past and try to get on with our lives." Coby suggested and put his hand on Leona's shoulder._

_The blonde girl slapped the boy's hand off and walked to her brother's grave. She stared at it deeply and then she turned her face to the three boys, giving them a stare of anger from her cold blue eyes out of which tears were still falling._

"_No, this will not belong to the past! I, unlike you, won't hide who I truly am under a curtain of goodness. I, unlike you, have accepted who I am. I, unlike you, have chosen to embrace my hatred." _

"_Leona… what's going on?" Coby asked._

"_Yes, I am Leona! I have the power! I will use it the way I want to!" Leona declared and then her right fist glowed with an uncontrollable golden aura. "AND I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU!"_

_In the next moment Codename Orewaleo materialized in front of the three boys and before anyone could do anything, the golden Angel Command destroyed the whole cemetery, leaving only the grave stone of Vorugu unharmed. _

Leona opened her eyes. The sun had set. The coldness of the winter night began to disturb her. Sighing, the girl began to walk to the entrance in the building but on her way she felt something cold on her face. She put her hand on her cheek and felt a tear swell down it.

"Brother…" Leona whispered as she saw Vorugu's face in the small drop of water. "I will never forget the day when I have become the Lioness!"

With that said; the girl clenched her right fist and continued her journey as night began to reign once again upon the city.


	33. The Hunt, part 1

Tiger kicked the wall of metal with anger and walked in circles as fast as he could. Sitting against a similar wall was Blane.

"How could this happen to us?" Tiger asked frustrated.

"Calm down, dude, we won't be able to get out of here if you're all pissed." Blane suggested.

"How could I not be pissed, Blane, when we were so gullible as to fall in this trap?!" Tiger continued and then he punched the wall as hard as he could, making a deep hole in it. "If not for him, that Raiden…"

_After Blane won his duel against Leona, he went to the hairdresser and got himself a haircut, shortening it above his neck. With that his looks had changed completely. Eager to show his friends the new him, Blane raced all the way back to the UFO. There he entered in the kitchen where the chosen duelists were having their discussion._

"_Hey, look who's back!" Subaru said. _

"_Blane, is that you?" Tsugumi asked._

"_The one and only!" Blane proudly replied. _

"_Awesome suit, it fits the sword more! Black with red flames, totally bad ass!" Tamma complimented him._

"_But what happened to your eyes? Their dual color…makes them weird." Luna pointed out._

"_Oh, let's just say that it was a little accident. And because of that I was wearing those sunglasses." Blane explained. _

"_I know you told me that you would change your looks a bit… but I didn't expect you to get this far." Subaru commented. "Though I preferred the longer hair."_

"_Don't worry dude, it will grow back." Blane assured him._

_However, the guardian angel's moment was interrupted by Tiger who coughed intentionally to reveal his annoyance._

"_May we go back to our plan of defeating Kaizer?" Tiger suggested._

"_What's his problem?" Blane asked._

"_Beats me." Subaru shrugged his shoulders._

"_My problem is that we've wasted so much time here when Kaizer is probably already on his way to the next map piece!" Tiger spat it out. _

"_Let's not rush yet, Tiger." Tsugumi intervened. "Don't forget that we need to wait for Nolan and Robert to return from their quest so that…"_

"_So that they could hinder us even more? Do we really need them and mister stalker to help us, Tsugumi? We're chosen duelists for crying out loud!" Tiger complained._

"_Listen, dude, do you have a problem with me?" Blane asked._

"_As a matter of fact, yes I have!"_

"_Then let's settle this somewhere else, shall we?"_

_And so Blane and Tiger got out of the kitchen and at their advice the others didn't follow. Not it was just the two of them, their conflict was about to begin._

"_Well, what's your problem with me?" Blane asked with his arms crossed._

"_Simple, your presence! You've been standing in our way for far too long, and it's high time someone kicked you out!" Tiger answered straightly._

"_Then you'll have to kick me out by force!"_

_Before Tiger could reply to Blane's words, the brown haired teen jumped in the air and his right foot landed on the chosen nature duelist's face. Tiger fell on the metallic floor and Blane landed a few feet behind him. However, the blonde teen quickly got up and turned to his opponent with his fists ready to fight. _

_Both rushed at the other and while Tiger's fist missed Blane, Blane's fist got caught in Tiger's other hand. Smiling, he began to tighten his grip on the brown haired duelist's hand, trying to crush his bones. However, Blane grabbed Tiger by his hair and used the strength in his free hand to throw him away. Tiger flew all the way to the corridor and fell out of the UFO through the opened door, having a hard landing on the cold snowy ground. Blane soon came out of the UFO after him and their fight continued outside, but little did they know that sitting on a hill nearby and watching them was Raiden._

"_The first prey is out. This will be easier than I thought!" Raiden spoke in his mind._

_Blane took out the sword he had received from Eternal Phoenix and span it with the agility of a swordsman. Tiger got a little intimidated by the large blade and slowly backed down. The brown haired boy rushed at him and attacked him with the sword, he dodging each and every one of these. But after a while Tiger pretended to have tripped and let himself fall on the ground. When Blane victoriously approached him, he grabbed a bit of snow and tossed it at his eyes. While he was trying to clean his eyes, Tiger jumped on him and both fell on the ground, rolling through the snow and fighting until they both fell in a large pit. _

_Their landing was a hard one and when they managed to get up and see what was going on, Raiden appeared at the edge of the pit and created a laser barrier that sealed them inside. _

"_Shubham, what the hell are you doing here?" Tiger demanded an answer._

"_The name's Raiden and I've come here to hunt all of you down in the name of Kaizer-sama!" Raiden answered with an evil grin on his face._

"_Free us at once, you bastard, or you'll pay!" Blane shouted._

"_Keep dreaming, fool!"_

_With those words being said, Raiden laughed maniacally and disappeared, leaving the two there so that either the coldness of winter or starvation would kill them if they didn't kill each other first._

"It's your fault, Blane!" Tiger exclaimed.

"How is it my fault, dude? I didn't tell Raiden to come and trap us here." Blane defended himself.

"If you didn't stand in our way so many times, we probably wouldn't be here now!"

Before Blane could say another word, Tiger clenched his fist and ran at him. Realizing that there was no way to reason with the blonde chosen duelist, Blane took out his sword once again to continue the fight. Tiger punched Blane's right arm and made him drop the sword. Afterwards he aimed at his face with the other fist, but Blane grabbed it quickly and used his force to throw Tiger away and have him hit the cold 'wall' of the pit. Then he leaned down to grab his weapon but much to his shock he saw that it wasn't there. When he turned his head up, he saw that Tiger was holding the sword in his hands and immediately attacked him with it. Blane began to dodge the first attacks that showed Tiger's intention to pierce holes through his body. Then the brown haired duelist jumped in the air and landed with his feet on the sword much to Tiger's shock. Afterwards Blane hit the chosen duelist in the left cheek with his right foot. That was what made Tiger drop the sword and back down all dizzy. Blane rushed at him and grabbed him, lifting him up and holding his body in a U position that would break his spine. But while doing so, he didn't notice that Tiger had clasped his fists and when they were close enough, he hit Blane's back so hard that his spine almost cracked. Due to the pain, Blane threw Tiger on the ground and then he fell on his knees, both breathing hard.

"Heh, I have to give you some credit, you're a good fighter." Tiger complimented Blane, much to his surprise.

"Tsh, I just did all this because this way the only way of talking to you." Blane replied. "Honestly, dude, what's your problem? I'm only trying to help you guys! And not just me, but also Nolan and Robert. We're giving our best to offer you guys aid in this hard battle against that creep Kaizer. Why do you refuse it?"

"This is a mission of the chosen duelists. In the battlefield I don't want others to risk their lives."

"Oh come on Tiger, we can take care of ourselves and you know that very well!"

"It's just… that I don't want to worry about you the way I worry for the other chosen duelists when we're battling. I don't want to see again how people I care for suffer…"

Blane's eyes widened when he heard Tiger, and he was even more shocked when he saw an actual sad face on the chosen nature duelist, as well as a tear falling down on his cheek. It was for the first time that he saw Tiger's soft side. Now he got it, Tiger wasn't a self centered person who thought that he could do everything, he was someone that cared for others' safety, that's why he always rejected his help.

"Dude, did you just say that you care about me?" Blane asked, his question making Tiger cover his mouth and blush. "Haha, I knew you weren't a jerk."

Tiger sweated as he realized that his tough guy image was being shattered. In an attempt to save it, he began to speak:

"Of course I don't give a fu…"

"Nah, it's ok, I also think you're a cool guy." Blane interrupted him. "There's no need to hide your true self, Tiger. We're all your friends and together, chosen duelists and your helpers, we'll be able to defeat Kaizer. Being a bigger team is a good thing, you know."

"I guess so?" Tiger shyly said.

"So, shall we get out of here?"

Blane got up on his feet and looked at Tiger who nodded in response. He offered the blonde teen his right hand to help him get up and the chosen nature duelist accepted it. Then they both looked up at the pit's mouth and saw that the 'walls' were very flat and thus made climbing hard.

Meanwhile at Kaizer's UFO, as Leona, Alwyn and Alien were sitting by the main computer of the spaceship awaiting an order from their master; the armored duelist was sitting in the middle of the room staring at the map that now had its third piece attached to it. As always, Tabitha's ghost performed a ritual upon it and made words appear on the drawn continents from it. The new X on the map indicated towards the northern part of Asia.

"This is where the fourth map piece lies." Tabitha explained.

"I see." Kaizer whispered to her.

The evil genius them turned to his three minions and said:

"Alright, next destination: Siberia!"

"As you command, Kaizer-sama!" Alien obediently said and turned to the computer.

"But what about Raiden?" Leona asked.

"Don't worry, he will find his way to us once his hunt is finished." Kaizer assured her.

"Then let's get going, la!" Alwyn exclaimed.

The UFO that was parked at the city's beach began to rise in the air and once it was at a level above the city's buildings, its jets began to spit out fire and the spaceship took off disappearing in the clouds.

Back at the two duelists that were stranded in the pit, after fifteen minutes of effort, Blane finally managed to climb to the laser barrier that was blocking their exit from the pit. The way that he climbed those flat walls was with the aid of Tiger who happened to have a pair of metallic claws in his pockets that he had stolen from a street mob. Sadly, the chosen duelist had only one pair, so he gave them to him and waited for the job to be done. Blane took a good look at the lasers that Raiden had set and smirked. They were weak compared to what he had seen in his life.

"This should be a piece of cake." Blane commented.

In the next moment the brown haired teen took out his sword and swung it. With just a hit, the lasers began to lose their energy and they slowly faded away. Blane climbed out of the pit and stretched his arms enjoying freedom. Afterwards he took the claws off and threw them back into the pit while saying:

"There, now you come out as well. I'll be waiting here."

After another fifteen minutes, Tiger had also managed to join Blane at the surface.

"Thanks for the help." Tiger said.

"No problem, pal." Blane replied and winked.

"So, any signs of Raiden?"

"Nah, it's like he's vanished. We better go back at the UFO and tell the others about this."

The duo walked back to the spaceship and had the surprise of seeing that its front door was still opened. That meant that there was some snow at the entrance, but it didn't really matter to them. However, as they set foot inside, they had the shock of seeing Tamma lying on the floor unconscious and with his cards spread on him.

"Oh no, Tamma!" Tiger exclaimed and ran to the little boy.

The blonde teenager checked his pulse and was relieved to see that he was still alive. Still, he was heavily damaged. Blane took out his sword and looked around. There was no sign of life so far. Then as he was walking, he said to his companion:

"It must've been…"

"Raiden." Tiger finished his sentence. "He's inside and he's up to something."

"Yes, that's why we gotta stop him." Blane replied.


	34. The Hunt, part 2

"_I am Raiden. My sole purpose is to serve Kaizer-sama until the day I die." _

Those two sentences kept repeating in his mind as he walked down the corridors of the chosen duelist UFO. With Tiger and Blane trapped, Tamma and Luna defeated, next on his list was Tsugumi. The blonde girl was in the kitchen washing the dishes when she heard some footsteps behind her. Tsugumi turned around and much to her shock she saw Raiden sitting at the entrance of the kitchen with his glowing deck in his right hand.

"Shubham, what are you doing here?" Tsugumi asked with shock.

"Shubham is not home anymore. There's only Raiden!" the black haired teenager dressed in black clothes with a red jacket responded. "I have come to bring you down, Tsugumi Shirayama, in the name of Kaizer-sama!"

"This is so not good!" the blonde girl thought.

"Duel me, Tsugumi, and show me the strength of the chosen light duelist!"

"If it's a duel you want, a duel you'll get!"

Tsugumi took out her deck and two metallic dueling tables rose from the floor. Both duelists walked to them and set their cards. Then by shouting 'Duel start!' their match began and ten shields materialized above them, five for each.

"I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone!" Tsugumi said and watched how Gaga Petrova, Light Spirit landed in her mana zone.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it, putting the top card of my deck to the mana zone!" Raiden said and then he watched how Ghost Touch landed in his mana zone.

"I cast another Faerie Life and gain another mana card! And afterwards I also cast Shrine of Rebirth and put the two Faerie Life from my graveyard into the mana zone!"

And now it was the third turn and Tsugumi already had seven cards in her mana zone. Those cards were Great Hercules, Giant Insect, DNA Spark, Gaga Petrova, Light Spirit, Heaven's Gate, Iron Arm Tribe and two Faerie Life. Still, Raiden did not show any signs of being impressed of her early mana increase fest. He simply charged mana and ended his turn.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card. Then I summon Pudding Pudding, the Eternal!" Tsugumi said and a small alien controlling a mini submarine appeared behind her alongside a blue haired princess dressed in a green dress and holding an umbrella.

"I cast Zenith Plan!" Raiden said and revealed his top two cards that were Faerie Life and Terror Pit, both of which went into his mana zone. "I end."

"I summon another Gaga Pikarian and draw a card. And now Pudding Pudding, break his shield!"

The blue haired princess jumped at Raiden and used her umbrella to break one of his shields. However, the shield shards quickly united into a card that went into Raiden's hand and shined with a green light.

"Shield trigger, I cast Natural Snare and send Gaga Pikarian to your mana zone!" Raiden said and Tsugumi's first Gaga Pikarian got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared, its card getting bounced into her mana zone.

Raiden then put an evil grin on his face as six mana cards of his tapped themselves and he put a darkness card in the battle zone, a horned red caped golden armored demon riding a golden horse appearing behind him.

"And now it's time to prepare your demise! I summon Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling!" Raiden called.

"Oh no… that thing looks menacing. I need something good to help me." Tsugumi said and then she drew her next card. "Perfect, I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga! And now I attack with Pudding Pudding and Gaga Pikarian, break his shields!"

This time Raiden did not show any signs of getting shield triggers. On the other hand, he gave a card in his hand a certain stare, meaning that he had gotten something good from his shields. He quickly charged mana and then as the eight mana cards tapped themselves, he showed a darkness card to his opponent and said:

"I summon Death Six, Ruthless Prince!"

A bone demon with red horns, dressed in a purple armor, with a red cape and a green sword that stretched like a whip appeared in the battle zone and used its weapon to destroy all other creatures. Now Tsugumi was in a desperate situation. She had no creatures and no cards in her hand. She was dependant on her next draw, a position that was not favorable for any duelist. Luckily for her, she drew a good card.

"Let's do it, Tenshi." Tsugumi whispered and then she showed the card to Raiden. "I summon Joan of Arc, Goddess of Victory!"

A robotic red creature with the body of a woman at its core wielding a golden sword appeared behind Tsugumi. However, Raiden was even more unimpressed.

"I really thought that you would represent me a challenge. I guess I was wrong." Raiden said while charging mana and then he showed a darkness spell. "I cast Inferno Sign and put Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling into the battle zone!"

The golden armored demon reappeared by Raiden's side, next to Death Six.

"My turn, I summon Iron Arm Tribe! Now go, Joan of Arc, break his final shields!" Tsugumi ordered and Tenshi fired a light beam that took out Raiden's last shields. But just as her attack finished, the shards immediately united into two cards that went into Raiden's hand and he put one of them into the battle zone while saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit! With its effect I send Iron Arm Tribe to your mana zone!"

A small bear cub appeared and hit Tsugumi's horse like warrior, making it disappear.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Codename Hungry Elegance!" Raiden said and then a rocky giant with a huge mouth on its belly and wielding a sword appeared behind him and roared. "And now I attack Joan of Arc with Go Thousand and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The two players revealed the top cards of their decks, Tsugumi having Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon and Raiden having Olzekia, General of Decapitation. It was 5 VS 7, so Raiden won.

"And now Go Thousand's effect gives Joan of Arc -5000 power! Go Thousand, destroy Joan of Arc!"

The golden demon stabbed the robot with its sharp staff, making it explode. Once again Raiden had regained control of the situation. If it weren't for her five shields, poor Tsugumi would have been toast. But now she was once again depending on her draw and her next card was Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits. This time she did not charge mana, for she was waiting for Raiden to break her shields, get a shield trigger that would save her and then get a small Alien out and evolve it into Gaga Alcadeias. She just had to wait.

Meanwhile as Tiger and Blane were heading to the hospital room, the wounded Tamma being held by the chosen nature duelist, they saw that Luna was also lying wounded on the corridor with her cards spread all over the place. Blane leaned down to her and much to his relief saw her open her eyes.

"Blane…" Luna murmured to him.

"Are you alright? Who did this to you?" Blane asked.

"It was… Raiden." the blue haired girl replied and then she fainted.

"We've got to get those two to the hospital room before it's too late." Tiger said.

"I know. Let's just hope that Subaru and Tsugumi will be able to handle Raiden before we get there." Blane replied.

Back at the duel, Raiden's turn had come. And it would be the last turn of the game.

"Time to finish this! Using Codename Hungry Elegance's effect I summon Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" from my mana zone!" Raiden said and then a blue and green demon with two laser guns on its back appeared behind him and roared loudly at Tsugumi. "With its effect I draw five cards and you'll discard that card from your hand!"

"Oh no!" Tsugumi exclaimed as she watched Gaga Alcadeias fall into her graveyard.

"Hahahaha, go, Codename Hungry Elegance and Death Six, break her shields!"

The two creatures used their weapons and slashed off four of Tsugumi's shields. The cards in them were Great Hercules, Giant Insect, Silver Shovel, Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon and Pudding Pudding, the Eternal.

"Princess Cub, break her final shield!" Raiden ordered and the little bear cub broke Tsugumi's last shield with its paws.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Heaven's Gate and put Perfect Madonna, Light Weapon into the battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then a white female statue alien with a white dress that made her look like a bell appeared by the blonde girl's side.

"Heh, I attack with Go Thousand and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Tsugumi's was Silver Shovel while Raiden's was Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord. It was 4 VS 6, so Raiden won and Perfect Madonna got -5000 and was destroyed.

"Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling, todomeda!" Raiden ordered.

What followed next was an explosion that was heard by half of the UFO. Subaru immediately rushed to the source of it and then he saw steam coming out of the kitchen. Once he entered it, he had the shock of seeing Tsugumi's cards lying on the ground and the girl lying next to them all wounded. He also saw how Raiden approached her.

"Raiden!" Subaru shouted.

"Oh look who's here! It's about time you showed up, Subaru Geki!" Raiden said while leaning down to Tsugumi and then he began to stroke her hair. "She is a fine girl, wouldn't you agree?"

"Don't you lay a finger on her!" Subaru ordered.

"It's not my fault that she wasn't good enough of a challenge. But then again, the chosen fire and water duelists were the same as her." Raiden explained. "Now if you excuse me, I want to enjoy my little prize!"

Raiden put his hand around the girl's shoulders and laid his head down to her neck. The image made Subaru remember of scenes from old Dracula films in which the vampire is seducing and drinking the blood of the innocent virgin. Before Raiden was able to do so, Subaru grabbed him by the shoulder and punched him in the face.

"Don't you ever harm Tsugumi, you bastard!" Subaru growled.

"Kehehehe, that's what I want to see out of you!" Raiden laughed.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"What if I told you that I planned to rape Tsugumi and then have you watch me bite her neck off and drinking the blood out?"

Subaru's response was yet another punch in the face, only thing time it was even stronger. Raiden laughed even more and then he pushed the chosen duelist aside so he would be freed. Afterwards he approached the black haired teenager that was getting angrier by each second that passed.

"Yes, fury, hatred, I want those to come out of you, Subaru Geki!" Raiden said.

"What are you babbling about, you lunatic?!" Subaru angrily asked.

"We aren't different from one another. Subaru, this world is afraid of us, because we both have power over Darkness! We are demons that this humanity has always tried to oppress, but no matter how hard they pray, they will never be rid of us!"

"No, you're wrong, I'm not a demon!" Subaru denied.

"Is that so? Tell that to the citizens of Mumbai!" Raiden countered and enjoyed seeing Subaru getting shocked. "Back there you enjoyed destroying things and all you wanted was to spill the blood of Shubham. What about now? Wouldn't you want to see my blood on these walls and know that you were the one who did it?"

"Tsugumi… You will pay for what you did to her!" Subaru clenched his fists with fury, them getting surrounded by strong purple auras.

"Yes, your kaijudo energy is growing bigger and bigger! That's what I want, Subaru! Show me your inner demon!" Raiden demanded.

All of a sudden, Subaru's eyes turned shining red and the shadow of Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger appeared behind him with its menacing swords pointed at Raiden who exclaimed:

"Yes, that's it! You finally understand that the meaning of the world is destruction!"

"All that I understand is that I'll destroy you bastard!" Subaru cruelly replied.

"You're no different from Kaizer-sama! He also knows that this world's fate is absolute destruction and works his best to fulfill this prophecy! Why don't you join us, Subaru? Together under Kaizer-sama we will see that all these foolish mortals will be annihilated by our darkness!" Raiden offered.

"No deal, if there's anyone that I want to see annihilated, that's you!" Subaru immediately refused and showed his deck that was irradiating with a strong darkness aura.

"If that's how you want it, then so be it!" Raiden replied and showed his deck as well.

The two dueling tables that disappeared back in the floor once Tsugumi's and Raiden's duel was finished rose once again from it and both players walked to them and set their cards. Then five shields appeared at each table and the duel began.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and put Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into his graveyard.

"I cast Ghost Touch!" Raiden said and discarded Bone Dance Charger from Subaru's hand.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!" Subaru said and a fire bird with sunglasses on its forehead appeared flying above him and chirped happily.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!" Raiden said and then he watched how Jenny, the Suicide Doll landed in his mana zone.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and discarded Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger. "Super Go On Pippi, break his shield!"

The fire bird flew towards Raiden and went through one of his shields, breaking it into pieces. Then it flew back to its master as the shield shards united into a card. Raiden took that card and showed it to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Faerie Life!"

The top card of Raiden's deck that landed into his mana zone was Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence". Then Raiden drew his next card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling!"

The golden armored appeared behind Raiden, aiming its weapon at Subaru ready for an attack. All it needed was the other. However, Raiden ended his turn there. When Subaru drew his next card, he gave his opponent an evil grin and said:

"It's time to blow your sorry ass to kingdom come!"

"Oh? Let's see you try, this will be entertaining!" Raiden replied with excitement.

"I cast Miracle Re Born and with its effect I put Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the battle zone from the graveyard!" Subaru said and then a red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind him. "With its effect I put another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the graveyard. And also, since Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Zero Romanoff! With its effect I put another Miracle Re Born in the graveyard. Now go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

Subaru's creature aimed its yellow guns at Raiden's shields and fired lasers that took down two of them. Seeing that his opponent had no shield trigger, the black haired chosen duelist continued his move.

"I attack with my second Zero Romanoff and with its effect I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger! Thunder Blade's effect destroys Go Thousand and then Zero Romanoff breaks your final shields!"

A demonic tiger wielding four purple blades appeared and slashed Raiden's golden armored demon into pieces. Then the second purple armored knight fired lasers from its yellow wings that broke his last two shields. When Raiden got the cards on his hand, one of them shined with a purple light and he showed it to Subaru while saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling!"

The golden armored demon that was previously destroyed by Thunder Blade reappeared in the battle zone. Then Raiden calmly watched Subaru as he tapped a card on his table and said:

"You're finished, motherfucker! Super Go On Pippi, todomeda!"

"Heh, ninja strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and with its effect I turn Go Thousand into a blocker!" Raiden slyly said and tapped the only darkness card on his field. "Go Thousand, block Super Go On Pippi!"

"Crap!" Subaru shouted as he watched his fire bird get destroyed. "Tsh, I end my turn. Still, you're shield less while I have three creatures ready to feast on your fleash!"

"We'll see about that, Subaru Geki! I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy my Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

"I destroy… Thunder Blade and a Zero Romanoff!"

Their mentioned creatures all got slashed by the merciless blades of the black demon Olzekia. It seemed that the General of Decapitation was bloodthirsty that day. Laughing, Raiden tapped the other card on his table and said:

"Go Thousand, attack Zero Romanoff and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Subaru's deck was Aqua Naruto Surfer while Raiden's was Death Six, Ruthless Prince. It was 7 VS 8, so Raiden won and Zero Romanoff got -5000 power, thus losing the battle with Go Thousand and getting destroyed.

"I end. What are you going to do now, Subaru? You've got no creatures in the battle zone, no cards in your hand and only five mana. You're at my mercy now!" Raiden declared.

Subaru growled as he drew his next card. It was Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, a card that cost 7 mana and he couldn't use. Growling, he put it in the mana zone and ended his turn. The simple thought of having a weak position in a duel was angering him a lot. Raiden was now calm and master over the situation. He had cards in his hand and two powerful creatures in the battle zone. Now it was his time to shine. He drew a card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord and end!"

A demonic lion with a large blue mane and yellow horns appeared behind Raiden and roared loudly at Subaru, and then it joined Go Thousand and Olzekia, getting ready for the moment when their master would order the attack. The next card that Subaru drew was Ballom Hunter, Lord of Demons that cost 10 mana. He sighed and placed it in the mana zone, thus ending his turn once again.

"My turn, I summon Codename Hungry Elegance! Then I attack with Bell Hell De Dios and destroy it to draw two cards!" Raiden said and admired Subaru's angered expression as he drew two cards from his deck. "I end my turn."

Now Subaru drew Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger. While it was a great card, its effect wouldn't work great in that situation because all of Raiden's creatures had high costs and thus it could not destroy them. Still, Subaru needed just an attack to win the match, so he put the card in the battle zone and said:

"I summon Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger! Arise, Raion!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V appeared behind Subaru and face to face with the creatures of Raiden.

"The situation doesn't look too good, Subaru." Raion said.

"I know, but let's just hope that we'll be able to survive this turn." Subaru replied.

"Oh, don't worry, Subaru, you will survive this turn. But it won't be the same for your kitty cat!" Raiden announced them. "I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 to your Liger Blade!"

"So what, Raiden? Raion still has 1000 power left."

"And now I also summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit and send Liger Blade to your mana zone! Hahaha, say good bye to your deck avatar!"

Subaru watched with shock how the small little bear cub punched his mighty lion and made it disappear, its card bouncing off the battle zone and landing in the mana zone. To make it worse, the next card he drew was Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, again something useless which ended up in his mana zone.

"Witness my power, Subaru Geki! With Codename Hungry Elegance's effect I summon Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" from my mana zone!" Raiden said and then the green and blue demon appeared behind him as he drew five cards. "Hahaha, I was hoping that you would be better now that your demon was unleashed, but once you lost your Zero Romanoffs, you reverted to your old pathetic self! Too bad, because you're going to join your love in the grave! Codename Hungry Elegance, Olzekia, break his shields!"

Both creatures used their swords to slash Subaru's four shields. Inside them were Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, Bone Dance Charger, Miracle Re Born and Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff.

"Princess Cub, break his final shield!" Raiden ordered and the little bear cub tore down Subaru's last standing shield with its paws.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate!" Subaru said and a black gate appeared behind him. "With its effect I destroy Hanzou and revive Deepsea Typhoon!"

The doors of the gate opened and black tentacles that ended with mouths came out and devoured Raiden's purple frog demon. Afterwards the tentacles retreated and a black turtle with blue spikes on its back came out of the gate.

"Heh, let's see who will be favored by luck!" Raiden said while tapping his only untapped darkness card. "Go Thousand, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Subaru's deck was Inferno Sign while the top card of Raiden's deck was Natural Snare. It was 5 VS 6, so Raiden won and Deepsea Typhoon got -5000 power and was destroyed.

"Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling, finish him off, todomeda!" Raiden ordered.

Right before the golden armored demon would rush at Subaru with its horse, a card came out of Raiden's pocket where he kept Shubham's old deck and flew towards Subaru. When Go Thousand was about to hit the chosen darkness duelist with its spear, the card stood in its way and an explosion occurred.

After the smoke cleared, Raiden saw that there was no sign of Subaru or Tsugumi to be found anywhere. He put a grin on his face and packed his cards. Then he walked victoriously out of the UFO and once he saw that he was in an open field, he spoke loudly:

"Mission accomplished, Kaizer-sama! The chosen duelists have all been hunted down!"

In the next moment a portal opened and Raiden disappeared into it.


	35. The new journey begins!

Raiden was greeted like a hero at Kaizer's UFO for accomplishing the task of hunting down all chosen duelists and terminating them. Once he set foot in the flying vehicle, Alwyn cheered for him and jumped in the air.

"You go, Raiden! You showed the chosen duelists who the boss is, la!"

Raiden walked to Kaizer who was standing near Alien's computer with his arms crossed. The black haired duelist bowed to his master and gave him the report:

"The fire, water, light and darkness chosen duelists have all been annihilated, Kaizer-sama! The chosen nature duelist and Blane Kaminaga are trapped in a pit and are still fighting each other."

"Excellent news, Raiden! Let this mark the day when the chosen duelists had fallen under the wrath of Kaizer!" Kaizer declared.

"I can't believe it; all of the chosen duelists are taken care of…" Leona commented.

"Well you should believe it, because I've personally taken care of each and every one of them!" Raiden replied.

"And for this you have made me proud, Raiden. Now let us march on our path to victory and claim the last two map pieces!" Kaizer ordered and all of his minions shouted war cries and raised their fists in the air.

A few minutes later, Raiden and Leona were sitting in different corners of the room watching how Kaizer was discussing with Alien at the main computer with Alwyn sticking around for the fun of it.

"Kaizer-sama, I will need the exact coordinates of the map piece's location if you wish to reach it faster." Alien said.

"Then scan this map into the computer." Kaizer replied and put the incomplete map on the scanner and pressed a button that stored its image into Alien's computer. "There, now you can set the coordinates to the place we must reach."

"On the double, Kaizer-sama! However, judging by its distance, it will take us almost a day to reach that exact spot."

"A day? How so, Alien?"

"Well, Kaizer-sama, it is winter time in the northern hemisphere of planet Earth and that implies that there will be snowstorms in the place we are heading. If that's the case, then our spacecraft will be hindered by them, no matter how high we might fly."

"I see your point. In that case, I don't think that we should rush. After all, the chosen duelists have been defeated."

"Wise decision, Kaizer-sama!"

Alwyn yawned and stretched his hands, catching his master's attention.

"Is there a problem, Alwyn?" Kaiser asked.

"I am bored, la! With no chosen duelists to fight, there's nothing much do to until we reach that map piece. I want to have fun, ah!" Alwyn demanded.

"In that case… Alien, set the auto-pilot for the UFO!"

"Huh? But why, Kaizer-sama?"

"Because you will be facing Alwyn in a duel."

Alien nodded at his master's command and then he pressed a few buttons on the spaceship's computer, turning the auto-pilot on. Then the being from outer space took its deck that was lying on a metallic table close to the computer and then walked to Alwyn. Smiling, the hot spring duelist also took out his deck and two dueling tables came out of the floor. Both players put their decks on, set their cards and thus their match began.

"I summon Fist Ace, the Meteoric!" Alwyn said and a red armored humanoid with a white X scar on his chest appeared behind him.

"I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet." Alien said and then a yellow sphere with a mouth with sharp teeth appeared behind him.

"I summon Shooting Exedrive! Go, Shooting Exedrive and Fist Ace, break his shields, la!" Alwyn ordered and both fire Hunters attacked two of Alien's shields and took them down. "Then Shooting Exedrive goes back to my hand. I end, la."

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card. Now Gaga Crouton, destroy Fist Ace!"

The yellow sphere flew towards Alwyn's red armored humanoid and devoured him before he could defend himself. However, that did not intimidate Alwyn. He drew his next card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Shooting Exedrive! Break another shield, ah!"

The red lizard warrior in silver armor rushed towards Alien and used the spikes on its arms to take down another one of its shields. Then the creature disappeared as Alwyn returned the card to his hand.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Alien said and revealed the top three cards from its deck which were HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga, Spiral Gate and DNA Spark. "HEIKE Double Cross and DNA Spark go to my hand, the other to my graveyard. And now I attack with Gaga Pikarian, break his shield!"

The white alien controlling a mini submarine made two laser guns come out of it and shoot one of Alwyn's shields. The shield shards united into a card that went into the hot spring duelist's hand that shined with a red light. Alwyn showed it to Alien and said:

"Shield trigger, la! I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Cebu Aquman Jr and Gaga Pikarian!"

The mentioned Aliens immediately got crushed by a giant red scrapper. Then Alwyn's turn came. He drew a card, charged mana and showed a water spell to his opponent while saying:

"I cast Hot Spring Brain and since you have two shields left I'll draw three cards!"

"Oh no, such draw power!" Alien exclaimed.

"Then I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw another card!" Alwyn continued and a red and blue cat appeared by his side. "Take that, ah! That's the power of the Onsen!"

"You want to display drawing power? Then so will I! Evolution! Gaga Crouton become Emperor Cebu Marco X!" Alien said and then a giant green alien with three mouths and a red X for eyes appeared behind him as he drew three cards. "How do you like my drawing power? Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break his shields!"

The alien fired blue laser beams from each of its mouths that tore two of Alwyn's shields into pieces. Much to his dismay, none were shield triggers. However, he didn't back down. Now that it was his turn again and he had many cards in his hand, Alwyn simply charged mana and showed a fire spell to his opponent saying:

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole! With its effect I put Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon wielding two yellow flaming swords appeared behind Alwyn and roared at Alien. The hot spring duelist laughed and said:

"Hahaha, Gaial Kaiser is a speed attacker! Let's see you stop this, la! Go, Gaial Kaiser, break his final shields!"

The dragon flew towards the being from outer space and used his two swords to take down its last shields. However, as the dragon's attack was finished, a light beam came from Alien's cards as the being said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap Hot Spring Crimson Meow! Then I get a new shield!"

"Hah, you were just lucky, ah. But with Alwyn the Onsen your luck will soon run out!"

"We will see about that! I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga!" Alien said and a golden angel wielding two shields with spears in their middle appeared behind it. "HEIKE Double Cross cannot be chosen by you, so you won't be able to get past my defense! Now go, Emperor Cebu Marco X, break his last shields!"

Alwyn took cover as the green Alien fired its lasers upon his shields. But as the attack was over and the shield shards united into two cards which went into his hand, he got up and showed one of them to his opponent while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer! Send Emperor Cebu Marco X back!"

"It doesn't matter. I can evolve him in my next turn and you are still finished!" Alien declared.

"We'll see about that, la! I summon Immediate Effect! Hot Springs!" Alwyn said and then an Alien that had its left side of the body blue and the right side red and with huge mouths with sharp teeth instead of arms appeared behind him and roared. "Immediate Effect lets me draw a card when it comes into the battle zone and is also a speed attacker with 8000 power! You're toast, la! Immediate Effect, break his last shield, ah!"

The creature flew towards Alien and used its mouths to destroy the being's last shield. When the shield shards united, Alien quickly showed the card to Alwyn and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Shadowflash Revival Spiral and send Gaial Kaiser back to the hyperspatial zone!"

A blue spiral of water surrounded Alwyn's red dragon and made it disappear. But that didn't matter for Alwyn who kept attacking Alien.

"Aqua Surfer, finish it, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, HEIKE Double Cross!" Alien ordered and the golden angel stood in the blue surfer's path and stabbed him with its spear shields.

"Hot Spring Crimson Meow, finish Alien off, la! Todomeda!" Alwyn ordered and the red and blue cat jumped at Alien and made it fell on the ground defeated.

Alwyn packed his cards and cheered happily for his win against Alien.

"Alright! Don't mess with the power of hot springs! I am Alwyn the Onsen, la!" Alwyn victoriously said.

"Now we'll have to endure his stupid babbling about how 'cool' he is until we get to the map piece. Just great…" Leona thought and silently sighed.

At the chosen duelist UFO things had finally settled down. Tamma, Luna and Tsugumi were all lying in the hospital room to have the machines treat their wounds while Blane and Tiger were discussing with Subaru in the same place. Also, Tsugumi was awake since she wasn't heavily wounded by Raiden like the other two, and thus she was able to participate at the conversation.

"Gee Subaru, how did you manage to escape Raiden's todomeda without getting wounded?" Blane asked.

"At first I thought it was a miracle, but then I saw that it was a card that protected both me and Tsugumi from receiving the full blast." Subaru replied and then he took out a psychic creature card and stared at the side that pictured a horned demon dressed in a golden armor, wielding two blue scythes, each with two blades, and riding a horned skeletal horse. "Black Ganveet…"

"But wasn't that one of Shubham's psychic creatures?" Tiger asked.

"Indeed it was, but for some reason it came out of Raiden's pocket and saved us in the last minute. I think that it is his way of rebelling and returning to me."

A small purple light came out of the card for two seconds to show that the creature agreed with what the chosen darkness duelist had said.

"Haha, well long time no see, Ganveet!" Subaru said to the card and then he turned to Blane. "What do you say? Should I add once again psychic creatures to my deck?"

"Be my guest, dude, it will just make it stronger!" Blane replied with a smile.

"Anyway, I'm guessing that now Kaizer thinks that we're dead." Tiger brought out.

"You're right, I heard Raiden speaking to his master and telling him that he his mission was accomplished." Blane said.

"If that's the case, then we now have the element of surprise to our side! Kaizer is probably heading to the fourth map piece and I'm guessing that he and his team will have a blast when they see us alive and well!" Tiger suggested.

"You can't say that we're actually going after Kaizer right now, are you?" Tsugumi asked. "Don't forget that some of us aren't in the best shape, Tiger."

"We have no time to waste, Tsugumi, because if we let Kaizer complete the map then the world will be doomed!" Tiger replied.

"But look at us! Half of the team is down and you guys aren't in the best shape either! To go now after Kaizer would mean complete suicide!" Tsugumi argued.

"Not while we're here to help!" a familiar voice resounded.

Everyone turned their heads to the door and saw three familiar figures enter the room. The first was a tan skinned teenager, obviously Nolan. Second was a blue haired girl dressed in an outfit that resembled that of the singer Miku, she was Hanna. And the last one who entered was a tall boy with brown spiky hair, Robert.

"It's about time you guys showed up!" Subaru said.

"We were still busy on our quest to find Tigra, but then Blane informed Hanna about the situation at the UFO and she informed us, so we came back." Nolan explained.

"In that case let's crack the engines and get going! We need all our strength ready if we're going to defeat Kaizer!" Tiger said.

In just a matter of minutes the chosen duelist UFO closed all its doors and windows and its engines turned on, the spaceship taking off with the speed of sound. And so the dice were thrown on the table. The race for the new map piece had begun and for once it seemed that luck favored the chosen duelists, as this time they would be the ones setting a trap for Kaizer.

During the trip, as Tiger and Nolan were trying to locate Kaizer's UFO, Blane and Subaru were this time in Subaru's room and both were working on the chosen darkness duelist's deck. Subaru's decision was to add psychic creatures once again, so they had to decide what to do.

"First of all, Subaru, tell me how you are intending of getting psychic creatures out." Blane said.

"Easy, via these two spells!" Subaru said and showed two darkness cards to his friend. "Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Hyperspatial Raiden Hole! Their cost isn't too big and they can be reused by the ability of my Zero Romanoff."

"And what are you going to take out from your deck to add these?"

"I think I will dispose of… Bone Dance Charger and Ballom Hunter. These cards that I'm now adding have more synergy with Zero Romanoff anyways."

"You have a point. Well since these spells can bring out only Darkness psychic creatures, I suggest you fill your hyperspatial zone only with that." Blane advised.

"Alright! Eight spots for eight cards…" Subaru muttered while looking in a card stack where he had his own collection of psychic creatures. "First of all a Volg Thunder and a Thunder Tiger are a must for Raiden Hole!"

"Indeed they are. But let's not forget that Volg Tiger won't always come in handy!"

"So what do you suggest, Blane?"

"That we also add other 5 cost Darkness psychics that might follow Volg Thunder if we cast Raiden Hole. I suggest you also add Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit and Silver Volg!"

"Great idea, dude!" Subaru said while putting the four cards near his deck. "Alright, now we got four left. Since I'm adding Emperor Hole, Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier is a must!"

"Indeed it is, this way your removal abilities will grow significantly!" Blane approved. "Well, Subaru, anything else?"

"Aw man, I got nothing more! And there's still room for three more psychic creatures. Should I add three more Volg Thunder to try and mill my opponent's deck?"

"While I do agree that milling is a great tactic, you shouldn't always rely on it! What if your opponent uses Soul Recall creatures and wants cards in their graveyard? Or even worse, what if your opponent has Cyber N World and not only do they refill their graveyard, but they also screw yours up?"

"You're right… Then what should I do?"

Blane then looked in his pocket and took out two psychic creatures that were multicolored. He put the two cards on the table and Subaru saw that they were both Dragons. One was red armored and wielded two yellow swords and it belonged to the Nature, Fire and Darkness civilizations. The other was blue and wielded a fire sword with its tail and it belonged to the Fire, Darkness and Water civilizations.

"Victorious Gaial Kaiser and Victorious Meteor Kaiser?" Subaru asked.

"Exactly! They both have the darkness civilization so you can get them out with your Hyperspatial spells! What's more is that they can cause some serious damage to the opponent!" Blane explained.

"Alright, I'm adding them! Thanks a lot, dude!" Subaru said while taking the two cards and then he put them next to the other five psychic creatures. "Since there is room for one more psychic creature, I guess I'll add one more Volg Thunder, it never hurts."

"Great! Now your deck is done and ready to kick ass!"

Subaru's deck began to shine with a bright purple aura. Both duelists felt that the creatures desired the same revenge as they did. And they would soon get it.

At the control room, Nolan and Tiger had managed to track down Kaizer's coordinates and the UFO was on his tracks. It was only a matter of time before the two sides would clash once again.


	36. The icy battle

Kaizer's UFO was making its way through the snowstorm that was currently falling upon Siberia. It was a hard fight with the harsh climate, but as long as Kaizer's will was strong, they would not back down from anything. The map had to be complete and nothing would stand in the evil genius' way.

Inside the spaceship the cold began to be felt by the others. While Alwyn was trembling uncontrollably and searching for a heat source, Leona and Raiden were trying to hide their discomfort. At the main computer, Alien was watching the weather from outside and controlling the spaceship, trying to make it pass the storm faster.

"How is the work going, Alien?" Kaizer asked.

"Not too good, Kaizer-sama. This snowstorm is a huge detriment to our mission, sir. I don't think that the ship will be able to pass it and reach the desired destination." Alien gave the report.

"You fool, we cannot back down now! Not when we've gone this far!"

"But Kaizer-sama, we are still above the forest known as taiga and the map piece is located in the tundra. Until we manage to reach tundra we will have to pass the taiga, and this forest is large!"

"Do you really think that is an excuse, Alien? We're flying ABOVE the forest, so that shouldn't be a problem!"

"I'm afraid it is, Kaizer-sama. You see, this snowstorm is concentrated only upon the taiga. My meteorological programs showed me that now in the tundra there are no clouds and the weather is just fine. This means that…"

"This means that once we get to this tundra we will be able to search for the map piece easily. Now stop complaining about a little snowstorm and let's get on the move! The map piece waits for us, Alien, and so does our destiny!"

"But Kaizer-sama, can't we just land here and wait until the storm has passed?"

"And have Alwyn, Leona and Raiden freeze to death? I think not! I am not going to sacrifice the lives of my minions just because you fear the weather!"

"I understand, Kaizer-sama…"

Even if he did not like the situation, Alien obeyed his master and forced the UFO's motors to increase their energy. The spacecraft began to move faster and faster, but it was still halfway through the storm.

But little did Kaizer know that the chosen duelists had located his UFO and its trajectory. Nolan deduced that they were heading to the Siberian tundra and in order to reach it faster they decided to take a detour above the Arctic Ocean to avoid all the snowstorms. Now inside their ship Hanna was watching over Tsugumi, Luna and Tamma who were recovering from their wounds, Blane was sitting by Nolan's side who was piloting the ship and Subaru and Tiger were discussing with Robert their plan of action.

"We think that you should be the one to do it since you're the most solid of us all." Subaru said.

"I don't know, do you think you will be able to endure the cold?" Tiger skeptically asked.

"Ah, don't worry guys; I'll endure anything to help my friends!" Robert assured them. "Just tell me what I have to do."

"Alright, we will drop you in the tundra to search for the map piece. Nolan is currently calculating the exact coordinates of it based on Kaizer's UFO's trajectory. Once you find, you will probably meet up with Kaizer and his minions one way or another. If that's so, you will have to duel them!" Subaru explained.

"And what happens if I lose?" Robert asked.

"Tell them that we are alive and are coming after him. Also, don't let go of the map piece. This should make them take you as a hostage in his ship."

"But why would I being Kaizer's hostage be a good thing?"

"Because once inside you will be able to distract him and his goons. Do whatever you can to keep their attention focused on you. This should buy us enough time to launch a counter attack and get inside his UFO."

"Alright, it sounds dangerous, but I'll do it! Anything for you, old friend." Robert smiled and put his hand on Subaru's shoulder.

"Thank you for helping us." Subaru replied with a friendly voice. "Now let's get a move on! We've got a world to save!"

"Heh, now that's the attitude I like!" Tiger said.

In less than an hour the chosen duelist UFO had reached the Siberian tundra. As planned, they left Robert all alone there and hid the spacecraft a few feet away from the shore. Meanwhile the tall brown spiky haired duelist was left all alone to search for the map piece. Wearing thick boots, ski overalls, a thick jacket and earmuffs on his head, he was ready for the toughness of the sub polar weather.

Robert searched every bit of the beach he could find but there were nothing but small plants that could endure the cold. After long hours of pointless search, he decided that he would give up. Sighing, Robert sat on a rock to take a little break but that rock was too heavy for his body so it fell off the ground with him landing on the back.

"Ouch! Talk about a bad day!" Robert complained and got up.

However, that bad would soon prove to be a good one when he saw that on the place where the rock lied there was a piece of paper. He quickly picked it up and analyzed it. The lines drawn on it resembled a part of the Asian continent. That was what made him realized that it was the object he was looking for.

"Alright, I found the map piece!" Robert exclaimed. "It's time to get this thing home and…"

Before he could finish his sentence, a large shadow fell upon his body. Robert raised his head up and saw that Kaizer's UFO was floating above him. A beam of light fell out of the spaceship and it was followed by Kaizer himself, who descended into the field. The spiky haired teen was scared by the armored duelist for a moment but then he remembered the plan and calmed down.

"The map piece! Hand it over!" Kaizer ordered him.

"Sorry, pal, but this thing belongs to me!" Robert replied and hid it in his jacket's pocket.

"I see, so you want it the hard way. You heroes never learn."

Six purple spheres surrounded Kaizer and he reached his hand into one of them and took out a deck. Then they disappeared and two dueling tables rose from the cold ground. Robert also took out his deck and both players set their cards and made five shields rise for each, thus beginning their match.

"I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone! Then Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight for free!" Robert said.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it." Kaizer said and then he put the top card of his deck, Reckless Cut Scrapper, into his mana zone.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and put gain yet another mana card!"

This time the card that landed in Robert's mana zone was Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia.

"I case Bone Dance Charger." Kaizer said and the top two cards of his deck: Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Terror Pit landed in his graveyard. "Then I put Bone Dance Charger into my mana zone and end."

"Alright, Kaizer, it is time to show you how to play this game!" Robert declared. "I cast Sanctuary of Mother and send Bronze-Arm Tribe to my mana zone. Then I evolve Bloody Shadow into the Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia from my mana zone!"

A female angel dressed in a golden armor with a red cape appeared behind Robert who smiled slyly at his opponent. Now Kaizer would not be able to cast any spells as long as they were not multicolored, thing which locked down his shield triggers. Being able to bring out Queen Alcadeias in the field so fast gave Robert the advantage he needed. Now he tapped his card and gave the attacking order to the creature:

"Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia, double break his shields!"

The angelic queen moved her hands around until she formed a sphere of light which she then tossed upon Kaizer's shields, taking two of them down. The shield shards floated around Kaizer for a while but then they both began to unite into two cards that when into his hand. Still, there was no reason for Robert to fear shield triggers as long as Queen Alcadeias was by his side. However Kaizer did not show the slightest bit of unease. The armored duelist simply drew his next card, charged mana and placed a nature card in the battle zone while saying:

"I summon Silver Shovel. With its effect I send both Silver Shovel and Queen Alcadeias to our mana zones!"

"Oh no, Queen Alcadeias!" Robert exclaimed.

A raccoon dressed in white robes wearing sunglasses and holding a shining silver shovel in his hands appeared in the battle zone and hit the angelic queen with it, both creatures disappearing and their cards landing in their respective owners' mana zones.

"Oh well, at least I got plenty of mana now." Robert looked on the bright side. "Anyway, I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle and end my turn."

"I summon Codename Bazagaze Ragon!" Kaizer said and a red armored dragon wielding a sharp metallic gun in its left hand and a sword combined with a chainsaw in its right hand appeared behind him. "Go, Bazagaze Ragon, double break his shields!"

The creature flew towards Robert and used its weapon to slash down two of his shields. But as he got the cards in his hand, he smiled thankfully to Kaizer for he had gotten exactly what he needed. Now that his turn had begun, Robert placed Faerie Life in his mana zone and tapped all nine cards. Then he showed two cards and said:

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and Olzekia, General of Decapitation! With Olzekia's effect I destroy Jasmine and your Bazagaze Ragon!"

"Tsh…" Kaizer murmured as his dragon got slashed into bits by the black demon's swords. "Is that all you've got, human?"

"Actually, nope. Hustle Castle also lets me draw two cards since I've put two creatures in the battle zone. And now I end!" Robert announced.

"My turn, I summon Necrodragon Onbashi Raon and Messa Danjiri Dragon. I end."

All of a sudden, Robert's hand glowed with a yellow and black aura and his eyes shined with a white light. He drew his next card and placed it upon his Olzekia card, beginning to shine with the same light his hand had.

"Olzekia, General of Decapitation, evolve into Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!" Robert shouted.

Olzekia shouted a war cry and then its body cracked open, out of which a blue-skinned goat demon with three pairs of hands, three pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white came out and stared down upon its owner's opponent.

"Ballcadeias, destroy all other creatures!" Robert said and the creature nodded and fired a beam of darkness that destroyed Kaizer's Dragons. "Now go, Ballcadeias, break his final shields!"

Ballcadeias moved his hands until a purple laser ball appeared which he casted upon Kaizer, destroying his last three shields. Once the attack was over and the steam cleared, Robert saw that Kaizer's armor had some small and almost unnoticeable burns. The shield shards had already united into the cards that went into his hand and now it was his turn. Robert smiled once again to his opponent and said:

"You have no shields, no creatures and you can't cast spells. Let's see you get out of this situation!"

"It will be my pleasure!" Kaizer replied and then his ten mana cards tapped themselves as he showed Robert a Zero civilization card. "I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!"

A giant Spartan warrior wielding a lance in his left hand appeared in the battle zone facing Ballcadeias, the Zenith being even bigger than the hybrid Angel Command/Demon Command.

"Greatest Great's effect makes me put creatures with a total cost of 7 into the battle zone from my mana zone or graveyard. So I put Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jasmine, Mist Faerie from my graveyard into the battle zone!" Kaizer said and then a green creature with five eyes wielding a red scythe appeared behind him along with a small green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress. "Kiryu Jilves makes all my creatures speed attackers and slayers, so I now attack with Greatest Great, break his final shields!"

Greatest Great swung his giant lance and used it to cut down Robert's last three standing shields. The shield shards quickly united and turned into three cards, but Robert had the disappointment to not get any shield triggers.

"Jasmine, Mist Faerie, todomeda!" Kaizer ordered.

"Ninja strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn him into a blocker! Block the attack, Falconer!" Robert ordered and then both creatures got destroyed, Kaizer's Jasmine landing into his mana zone.

That was it; Robert had no more tricks to prevent Kaizer from defeating him. He was done for. However, Subaru's plan had to be continued, so instead of silently accepting his defeat, Robert put a hot shot attitude on and spoke to his enemy:

"Don't think that I'm finished yet, tin can!"

"What are you talking about?" Kaizer asked.

"Did you really think that your retard called Raiden could finish off my friends? You're heavily mistaken! They're alive and well, and they're coming right for you, Kaizer! Did you hear me? The chosen duelists will come and foil your plans even if I've lost!" Robert threatened him.

"That's enough! Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar, todomeda!"

At Kaizer's order, the five eyed creature jumped at Robert and hit him with its scythe, throwing him away and having him land near the water. Kaizer packed his cards and walked to the unconscious Robert who was lying wounded on the snow. The armored duelist picked him up and then he teleported them both back into his UFO.

Inside the spacecraft Kaizer was greeted by his minions with cheers of applause not only for the victory but also for the trophy that he had brought. The armored duelist ignored the laurels and went to the first free table he could find and put the unconscious Robert there.

"Alien, scan his body and find where he has hidden the map piece!" Kaizer ordered.

"But Kaizer-sama, I thought you could do that yourself." Alien brought up.

"I am not in the mood for disobedience, minion!"

"I understand, sir!"

As Alien was preparing the body scanner on his computer Kaizer turned to his other three minions and set his eyes on Raiden. The anger that he had was easily seen through his red glowing eyes. Feeling that something was wrong, Raiden approached his master and said:

"Kaizer-sama, are you angry? Is something the matter?"

The response that came from Kaizer was a powerful slap on the face that left Raiden's left cheek all red.

"You have failed me, Raiden! The chosen duelists are still alive!" Kaizer expressed his problems.

"How is this possible? I swear that they were terminated when I left their UFO, master!" Raiden said while kneeling down in front of the armored being.

"Maybe they tricked you, la." Alwyn suggested.

"Now's not the time for your jokes, idiot!" Leona picked on him.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion, ah." Alwyn defended himself.

"I can't believe it! I gave you the power of Radio Roses and you're still a failure!" Kaizer angrily spoke and clenched his fist. "Those chosen duelists keep standing in my way like a persistent infection! There has to be a way to get rid of them!"

"Please, Kaizer-sama, let me take care of them! I promise that this time I will not fail!" Raiden begged.

"No, this time I will take matters into my own hands!" Kaizer replied.

"Good news, Kaizer-sama, I have found the map piece!" Alien said and then he took out the piece of paper from Robert's pockets and gave it to his master.

"Ah, at last someone does something useful around here!" Kaizer said and then he took out the rest of the map. "Good job, Alien! Now turn on the engines and let's get out of here! We have one more piece left to complete this puzzle!"

And so Kaizer's UFO took off to new lands to explore where they would find the last map piece. But little did they know that the chosen duelist UFO was right behind them, camouflaged and ready for the perfect moment when they could attack and save their friend Robert. Everything was just a matter of time.


	37. Robert's comeback

When Robert opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying in a room with metallic walls that was decorated with strange technological equipment which he had never seen before. When he took a better look around him, he noticed that he was tied to a metallic pillar and also saw Alien sitting at a large computer pressing buttons, Leona and Kaizer discussing while looking at a piece of paper, and Alwyn and Raiden guarding him.

"Well, well, look who's awake!" Raiden spoke.

"The sleeping beauty is not sleeping anymore, la!" Alwyn noticed.

"Where am I?" Robert asked.

"You're aboard our UFO and will be our hostage. So I suggest you enjoy your ride, hahaha!" Raiden laughed.

Robert took a good look at Kaizer and saw that he had united the map piece with the rest of the paper of which it belonged. Then he noticed something strange – a black smoke was firing a small purple beam upon the paper and then lines began to appear on it.

"I see, so our next stop is Saudi Arabia." Kaizer remarked.

"Heh, and once we complete the map; we will finally get the power!" Leona added and clenched her fist with excitement. "Then the world will be at our feet!"

"Yes, but first we must make sure that the chosen duelists will not stand in our way again. That's why we have to lure them to us and take care of them once and for all!"

Kaizer hid the map in his armor and turned to Robert. The armored duelist approached him and stared at him as if he was a mad scientist and Robert was the unfortunate subject. Alwyn and Raiden stood by their master's side, smirking the whole time. However the tall teenager hid his fears and looked straight into Kaizer's evil red eyes.

"I have to thank you, human." Kaizer said.

"Thank me? For what? What did I do?" Robert asked.

"Thanks to you, not only do I have another map piece, but I also have a hostage with which I can lure the chosen duelists right into my trap! That way I will make sure that you all will be eradicated once and for all!"

"Tsh, babble all you want, tin can, my friends will turn you into scrap metal!"

Kaizer then leaned to Robert and put his hand under his chin, raising his head up to his eyelevel. Now the poor boy had an even closer look into Kaizer's demonic eyes.

"Tell me, Robert, do you feel fear?" Kaizer asked.

"We all feel fear…" Robert answered.

"Then do you fear that you might be destroyed?" Kaizer kept asking.

"No!" Robert straightly answered. "You don't know my fears and I don't want to reveal them to you!"

"I could care less about what you fear. However, I am guessing that you wouldn't mind if you died right here and now as long as your friends were saved, am I right?" Kaizer brought up.

"I would do anything to protect my friends from you!" Robert affirmed.

"To put your own life in danger for others…" Kaizer remarked. "Alright, I have one final question for you: What is your purpose in life?"

"To defend those I care for!" Robert answered with honesty dipping in his voice.

"I see… In the end, only I lack a purpose." Kaizer said with a rather saddened voice and walked away, leaving Robert with Alwyn and Raiden.

Robert took a deep breath and then he remembered Subaru's plan. He had to do whatever he could to stall for time until the chosen duelists would come for his rescue. Then he looked once again at those who were guarding him. Raiden seemed pretty cold and ruthless, but young Alwyn on the other hand seemed better to have a conversation with. It was settled, the hot spring duelist was his first target.

"Hey Alwyn, do you by any chance know how to cook?" Robert asked.

"Yes, la, I am the cook of this UFO!" Alwyn proudly said. "Without me they would all be starving!"

"And how is your good cooking exactly?"

"It's the best there ever is, ah!"

"Oh really? I don't believe you! Sorry, but my friend Tsugumi is a much better cook, I have to say!"

"That's so not true, la! And I, Alwyn the Onsen, will prove it to you!"

"Alright, then bring me some French fries and a chicken schnitzel on the double!" Robert commanded.

"As you wish, ah!" Alwyn said and began to run to the kitchen.

"Wait, Alwyn, you're not supposed to feed the hostage!" Raiden intervened.

"Why not, la? He may be our hostage, but that doesn't mean we have to be awful guests!" Alwyn argued and then he disappeared in the kitchen.

Raiden gave Robert a stare of disgust as he was laughing out loud at the gullibility of Alwyn. The black haired duelist rushed at him and grabbed his shirt, pulling him to his level and looking at him angrily.

"Don't think that you're at a five star hotel, buddy! Keep in mind, you're our hostage!" Raiden reminded him.

"Oh, is that so, Raiden? Or should I say Shubham?" Robert replied with a sly smile on his face.

"Shubham doesn't exist anymore! There is only Raiden!"

"You're right, now you're nothing more than a brainwashed Shubham who is Kaizer's puppet. Boy, I wouldn't want to be in your position, pal!"

"Shut it! I am Raiden and my sole purpose is to serve Kaizer-sama until I die! He is my creator, he is my master and I will not let you insult us!"

"Yeah right…. You're so blind that you can't see that he's pulling your strings." Robert replied with confidence, not being intimidated by Raiden's increased anger. "Face it, Raiden, he's playing you like a piano!"

Not being able to endure Robert's speech anymore, Raiden pushed him against the metal bar and hit the back of his head. Then he angrily walked away, ignoring Robert's laughs. But not long after he left, Alwyn rushed to Robert with a plate that had French fries and a big chicken schnitzel.

"It's done la!" Alwyn announced the hostage.

"Well do you mind untying me? I'd like to eat it." Robert asked.

"Sorry, can't do that, ah. However, I can feed you if you want."

Robert nodded and Alwyn took out a fork and a knife which he used to feed the tall brown haired teenager. After five minutes, the meal was done. Robert swallowed the last bit of food and then he burped loudly.

"So how was it, la?" Alwyn asked.

"It was beyond amazing! Boy, you're one heck of a cook!" Robert complimented.

"Thanks, ah, it was a tough job to make that schnitzel, but Alwyn the Onsen never fails! It's good to finally see someone appreciate me around here, la!"

Alwyn took the dirty plate and went back to the kitchen to wash it. In the meantime, Robert decided to have more fun, so he looked around and noticed Leona sitting against a wall and looking at her sharp nails. Attempting to get the girl's attention he shouted:

"Hey there babe, what's a fine girl like you doing all alone in a place like this?"

"Huh? You talking to me, punk?" Leona cruelly replied and walked to him, Robert noticing from her footsteps that she was approaching him like a predator did with its prey.

"Well I don't see any other cute chick around here, so I guess I'm talking to the person known as you." Robert continued with a cheering voice.

"Oh how sweet and chivalrous of you to shower me with compliments!" Leona said.

"Hehe, that's my job I guess. It's not every day that my eyes get to see such a rare beauty!" Robert tried to infatuate the girl.

Leona's response was a powerful punch in the stomach which made Robert spit out some blood. The girl then withdrew her fist from his body and looked at it smiling and revealing her sharp fangs. However Robert did not give up yet. He raised his head to her and continued his courting speech:

"Wow, now that's what I call a punch! You surely must be the strongest out of this UFO!"

"Tsh, zip it, lover boy! I'm not so retarded as to fall for these second rate lines!" Leona straightly spoke to him.

"Hey, you can't blame me for trying, now can you?" Robert replied with the same cheerful disposition, much to the girl's surprise.

"You wouldn't be able to conquer a girl's heart not even if your life depended on it!" Leona spat more venom at him. "And besides, what makes you think that someone like me can feel love?"

"Well Blane surely thought that!" Robert stroke back.

Just then images of Leona's past began to flash in her mind. She remembered the times she and Blane were wandering from town to town. She remembered how she was admiring him and thinking that he was holding true power. She remembered how he was teaching her how to be a good person and help others. She remembered how much she enjoyed standing in his presence. She remembered how she enjoyed his laughter and smiles. She even remembered how much similar Blane was to her brother Vorugu back in the times when he was a hero. All of a sudden, tears began to fall from the girl's cold blue eyes.

"Oh? Did I touch a sensible chord?" Robert ironically asked.

What followed was yet another strong punch of Leona's but this time she aimed for the face and left him a nasty mark on his right cheek. The blonde girl walked away from him, her anger being clearly noticed by her fellow teammates.

A few minutes after that incident, Alwyn had finished washing the dishes and returned to the hostage to continue his duty of guarding him, even if Raiden refused to join him. Seeking more opportunities to relax, Robert cooked up a new plan to trick Alwyn.

"Hey Alwyn, my feet hurt. Can your godly arms relax them a bit?" Robert innocently asked.

"Why of course, la! Back in my village I am known as the greatest masseur!" Alwyn excitedly replied and took off Robert's shoes and socks. "Many spas had acknowledged my talent! I am not known as Alwyn the Onsen for nothing, you know!"

With the self advertising being said, Alwyn began to massage Robert's feet and boy was it a ride! His arms truly belonged to those of an expert and the hostage enjoyed every moment of the therapy the hot spring duelist was offering him. Now for Robert it seemed that he was on a vacation and not at all captive in the enemy's clutches.

After fifteen minutes, Alwyn was done with the massage and put Robert's socks and shoes back on his feet. Then he went back to his duty of guarding the hostage. Getting bored yet again, Robert thought on who to pick next. He didn't reflect upon that subject too much and quickly shouted towards the center of the room:

"Hey Kaizer, care to move your metal butt here?"

"What is it that you want, human?" Kaizer asked with his arms crossed, not moving a foot from the place he was.

"I'm getting a little bored around here! Boy, do you guys need to get some entertainment around this place! I can't understand how you've survived here so far." Robert commented.

"Silence!" Kaizer ordered and then he stomped his foot.

A wave of darkness came out of armored duelist's foot which hit Robert and weakened him. The brown spiky haired teenager began to breathe hard and sweat. Kaizer's magic attack had had a great impact upon him and it showed that his enemy wasn't fooling around. Still, he needed to buy for more time, so he had to risk and keep on annoying them.

"Not the talkative type anymore? What's the matter, Kaizer? Too afraid to discuss some matters with a mere prisoner who cannot do anything?" Robert provoked him.

"I do not have time to listen to your insipid drivel! I have much more important matters to attend to!" Kaizer dismissed him.

The otherworldly being turned his back to Robert and did not give him anymore attention, regardless of what he said. That was it; Robert had no more ideas on what to do. The buying for time plan that Subaru came up with did not work as good as he had expected. But just as he was about to give up, Robert looked at the screen of Alien's computer and saw some small red dots approach the spaceship. Realizing that his friends were close by, he decided that his new target would be the little being from outer space so that his rescuers wouldn't be noticed.

"Hey Alien, isn't the weather a little too cold for you to not wear any clothes?" Robert spoke loudly so that he could be heard by the extraterrestrial.

"Clothes? What are you talking of, earthling?" Alien asked and turned its head away from the computer screen.

"What? You don't know that you're naked?" Robert asked back and blushed.

"Frankly I do not understand what you are talking about. The terms you are using are unknown to me." Alien said and began to walk to him.

"I guess it's too hard for you to comprehend. Oh well, what are you going to do to me? Any experiments? Dissection? Urine extraction?" Robert continued with his arsenal of questions.

"If I wanted to do experiments on a human being, I would pick a subject that is… more normal." Alien answered with a passive voice.

"Wait… WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Robert yelled at the being from outer space.

Meanwhile outside of the UFO, Blane and Torch along with Hanna and Lunarzberg were flying in circles above the enemy vehicle. Approaching it from behind was the chosen duelist UFO that was still camouflaged. Inside it, Tamma, Luna and Tsugumi were still recovering in the hospital room, but Subaru and Tiger were both sitting in front of the main entrance door with their decks in their hands prepared for battle and Nolan was preparing all the ship's weapons for the attack.

"You know what's a little unbelievable for me, Tiger?" Subaru broke the silence between them.

"What might that be?" Tiger curiously replied.

"That I never expected this morning to face Raiden and lose to him before sunrise, to return to the team and kick out Honda, to face Raiden yet again and lose, to update my deck once again with the help of Blane, to go after Kaizer in Siberia and now to take part in a full attack on his UFO." Subaru confessed.

"Haha, well I guess that's another ordinary day from the life of a chosen duelist." Tiger laughed. "Anyway, we've got a job to do, so let's concentrate!"

"Alright! Tonight Kaizer's going down!" Subaru declared.

At the control room, Nolan had managed to get the UFO's entire arsenal out and aim it at the enemy ship. He looked at the cameras and saw that Blane and Hanna were ready, as well as their creatures. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and then he silently prayed for the best. Then he opened his eyes and shouted:

"ATTACK!"

In the next moment Nolan pressed a red button and the UFO's camouflage disappeared, revealing itself to Kaizer's spaceship. Then it began to fire lasers upon it as if it were a white blood cell attacking a bacterium. Blane and Hanna also gave attacking orders to their creatures and both began to fire lasers from their mouths, damaging Kaizer's UFO from above.

Inside, the whole place was shaking. All of Kaizer's minions were in panic while their leader was keeping his calm and trying to figure out what was going on. During that time, since nobody was paying attention to him, Robert untied himself and rushed at his enemies. He grabbed Raiden and Leona and knocked their heads together, leaving both of them unconscious. Then he grabbed Alien as it was trying to approach the computer and he punched the extraterrestrial in the head, knocking it off as well.

"You! This is all your doing!" Kaizer remarked.

"Let's just say that this is my comeback!" Robert replied with the same sly smile on his face. "Now if you excuse me, my friends are coming for my rescue!"

"Alwyn, make an emergency landing! I will take care of the rest!" Kaizer ordered.

"As you wish, Kaizer-sama!" Alwyn replied and then he rushed at the computer and began to pull switches.

Due to the multiple attacks and damages that Kaizer's UFO was receiving, the machine began to fall from the sky but thanks to Alwyn it manage to land safely in the taiga which was still enduring a snowstorm. The chosen duelist UFO followed them and soon landed in front of the other spaceship. Its front door opened and Subaru and Tiger came out, ready for battle.

"Hang in there just a little more, Robert!" Subaru thought.

"Get ready, Kaizer, because we're coming!" Tiger thought.


	38. Decisive match

Alwyn took a deep sigh of relief when he saw that the UFO had a good landing. Even though his teammates Leona, Raiden and Alien were all knocked out, as long as they weren't severely injured everything was fine. The Onsen turned to his master and saw that he was infuriated and was about to attack Robert for having the audacity to trick them by distracting them from their enemies who had managed to set their UFO out of commission.

"You will pay for this!" Kaizer growled.

"Bring it on, tin can; I can handle you and much more!" Robert declared and prepared his fists for a fight.

However their imminent battle was soon interrupted by an explosion. The front entrance was destroyed and then two figures came inside Kaizer's UFO. The trio turned their sights to the two intruders and as the smoke cleared they saw that they were Subaru and Tiger, both equipped with their decks and both ready to fight.

"The chosen duelists…" Kaizer revealed how unpleased he was by their encounter.

"Hey there, Kaizer, long time no see!" Tiger saluted his foe.

"Hope you don't mind if we crash the party!" Subaru added.

"It seems that even Raiden, my strongest weapon, wasn't able to take you down. That only means one thing: I will have to do it myself!"

Kaizer made the six purple spheres that represented his decks appear around him and fly around his body. The armored duelist was also ready for a fight and he would not hold anything back. But then Alwyn stepped in front of his master and took out his own deck, smiling evilly at the chosen duelists and saying:

"Kaizer-sama, let Alwyn the Onsen help you! I promise you that I will be able to defeat them, la!"

"Fine Alwyn, pick one of the chosen duelists and duel him. I'll take care of the other once you are done." Kaizer replied and then he took a deck out of one of the spheres, made the others disappear and walked a few steps back.

"Alright Tiger, I'll take care of the squirt, you prepare yourself for Kaizer!" Subaru said and approached Alwyn.

Tiger nodded and backed down as well. Two dueling tables rose from the metallic ground and both players put their decks on them and set their cards up. Then their shields rose in the air, five for each, and the match between Subaru and Alwyn had begun. Meanwhile Robert ran over to Tiger side and the chosen duelist was relieved to see that he was alright.

"Glad you guys made it; I don't know how much I would've been able to stall for time." Robert confessed.

"Good thing that you're safe. Now I want you to get out and meet up with the others!" Tiger said.

"But I want to stand here and help you guys more!"

"You've helped us more than enough, Robert. Now it's time for you to go, we'll handle the rest from here!"

Sighing, Robert nodded in acceptance and ran away from the UFO. Now knowing that he was safe, Tiger could be able to concentrate on the battle.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and the black haired Duel Hero dressed in a dark blue suit appeared next to him.

"Oh, so we're finally going to defeat Kaizer?" Atsuto asked while drawing two cards for Subaru.

"Yes, but first we've got to take care of this guy." Subaru replied and pointed to Alwyn.

"I understand. How fabulous." Atsuto commented and then he discarded Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and Deepsea Typhoon from the chosen darkness duelist's hand.

"You two are weird guys, la! But I will defeat you, I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow!" Alwyn said and a red and blue cat appeared by his side as he drew a card.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!" Subaru put a fire card on his table and then a fire bird with green sunglasses on its forehead appeared flying above him and chirped happily.

"I summon Qurian and draw a card! Now Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield, la!"

The cat meowed loudly and aggressively and then she jumped at Subaru and used her claws to slash one of his shields. The shield shards united and turned into a card that went into his hand. Seeing that the next cards he drew weren't good, Subaru simply charged mana and ended his turn. But he did not expect Alwyn to be more aggressive than usual. The hot spring duelist charged mana and showed a fire card while saying:

"I summon Shooting Exedrive! It's time to bring you down! Shooting Exedrive, break his shield, la!"

The red lizard warrior dressed in silver armor rushed towards the black haired teenager and broke one of his shields with the spikes on its arm. This time however the broken shield eradiated with a purple light and it turned into a card that Subaru immediately showed to Alwyn and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Qurian!"

A black gate appeared in front of Alwyn and opened its doors revealing dark purple tentacles that ended with mouths. The tentacles grabbed his blue Cyber Lord that was controlling a mini submarine and devoured him. Then they retreated and out of the gate came a black turtle with blue spikes on its back. Afterwards the gate closed its doors and disappeared.

"I revive Deepsea Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew a card and discarded Aqua Surfer.

"Grr, I end and return Shooting Exedrive to my hand." Alwyn said.

"Then it's my turn and I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole!" Subaru announced and showed a darkness spell that Kaizer, Tiger and Alwyn were surprised to see him use. "With its effect I destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow and put Victorious Meteor Kaiser into the battle zone!"

The red and blue cat exploded and vanished and right after that a purple hole appeared in the ceiling and out of it descended a blue metallic dragon with its tail holding a red fire sword.

"Victorious Meteor Kaiser makes you put cards in your mana zone tapped." Subaru continued with a smile of confidence. "Heh, I end."

"That's not good, la!" Alwyn said and then he looked angrily at the Hyperspatial Shooting Hole in his hand that he could not cast due to the fact that he had to put his mana tapped. "I charge mana and summon Shooting Exedrive! Go and break his shield, ah!"

The silver armored red lizard warrior repeated its attack and thus another one of Subaru's shields went down. However, it seemed that Alwyn did a big mistake, as his opponent had gotten the exact card he was waiting for from that shield. When his turn started, Subaru tapped five out of his six mana cards and showed the card he got from his shields while saying:

"I cast Miracle Re Born! With its effect I revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind Subaru and made another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card from his deck land into the graveyard. Then the chosen darkness duelist tapped the only darkness creature card he had in the battle zone and said:

"Since Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born to revive a second Zero Romanoff! With its effect I put Hyperspatial Raiden Hole into the graveyard and now I double break with my first Zero Romanoff!"

The knight aimed both its guns at Alwyn and fired lasers from them, the beams taking down two of his shields. Seeing that there were no shield triggers coming from the opposing side, Subaru tapped the other darkness card and said:

"I attack with my second Zero Romanoff and cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole! With its effect I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone and mill your deck!"

A red demonic dragon descended from another purple hole in the ceiling and aimed the blue sword it was holding at Alwyn's deck, making his top cards fall into the graveyard one by one. First it was Hot Spring Brain, then Immediate Effect! Hot Springs, afterwards it was Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and finally Apache Hyahho.

"Then with Raiden Hole's second effect I destroy Deepsea Typhoon and put Silver Volg into the battle zone!" Subaru continued and then the black turtle blew up and got replaced by a wolf with a purple mane. "Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The second knight repeated the attack of the first and took down two more of Alwyn's shields. However this time one of the cards shined with a red light and he showed it to his opponents and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper! Destroy Atsuto and Super Go On Pippi!"

A red metallic scrapper appeared out of nowhere and crushed the fabulous Duel Hero and the fire bird. That was what made Subaru end his turn. Now Alwyn's turn came once again and he quickly placed Unicorn Fish tapped in his mana zone and showed the fire spell he was intending to cast the previous turn.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and destroy Silver Volg!" Alwyn said and then the wolf with purple mane blew up. "Then I put Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon wielding two yellow flaming swords descended from a red hole in the ceiling. Alwyn immediately tapped the psychic creature card and gave the order:

"Gaial Kaiser, break his final shields, la!"

The dragon flew towards Subaru and used its swords to slash off his last two shields. Sadly for Subaru, he had no shield triggers. But what Alwyn forgot was that his opponent still had field advantage. Subaru had four creatures that could attack while Alwyn had only one shield left. In other words, the chosen darkness duelist did not have to worry too much, even if the hot spring duelist had a shield trigger.

"Alright, it's time send you back to the hot spring, kid!" Subaru declared. "I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole! With its effect I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier into the battle zone!"

Another purple hole appeared in the ceiling out of which descended a horned demon dressed in a golden armor, wielding two blue scythes, each with two blades, and riding a horned skeletal horse. The demon slashed Alwyn's dragon into bits as Subaru said:

"With Black Ganveet's effect I destroy Gaial Kaiser! Now go, Zero Romanoff, break his final shield!"

The knight fired a laser from one of its yellow guns and took down Alwyn's last shield which he immediately showed the card from it and said in response:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer, ah! Send the other Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff back to your hand!"

A blue surfer appeared out of what used to be the shield and seared through the air landing with its surfboard upon the other knight and making it disappear, the card being bounced into Subaru's hand. But that didn't matter to him. The black haired duelist simply tapped another darkness card in the battle zone and said:

"Volg Thunder, finish it, todomeda!"

The demonic dragon swung its sword and thus Alwyn was thrown against the wall along with his cards and defeated. He joined the rest of his teammates in their slumber, much towards Kaizer's dismay. Subaru and Tiger hi fived victoriously and turned to their archenemy who was still standing and was ready for a fight.

"Alright, another one down and only the big bad left to go!" Subaru said.

"Kaizer, you should probably pick better minions, because these guys really suck hard!" Tiger added.

"You probably are right, chosen nature duelist, but now you have to face me!" Kaizer countered and approached the duo. "Your friend Subaru indeed showcased impressive skills over the Darkness civilization, but let's see if you have what it takes to face me!"

"Oh, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, Kaizer!" Tiger enthusiastically replied and walked to his armored foe. "It's payback time for everything that you've done to us, creep!"

"Then let us make this more interesting." Kaizer suggested and snapped his fingers.

In the next moment a huge hole appeared in the ceiling which revealed the winter night in the forest outside. The snowstorm in the taiga had finally cleared. Kaizer and Tiger floated upwards and got out of the UFO. Then Kaizer snapped his fingers again and made the hole in the spaceship disappear. Afterwards both landed safely on its roof.

"Our match shall take place here, for the whole world to see!" Kaizer declared and with a simple move of his hand he made two dueling tables rise out of the UFO's roof. "Now your friends shall witness your annihilation!"

"Actually, Kaizer, they will witness how I will kick your metal ass to kingdom come!" Tiger replied.

Both players put their decks on the tables and set their cards, five blue colored shields rising up for each of them. Both shouted 'Duel start!' and thus the epic match that would decide the future of the world began.

Meanwhile Subaru got out of the UFO and was greeted by his friends Robert, Blane and Hanna, the latter two having sent their creatures back to the creature world.

"Hey there, glad that you made it back safely!" Blane greeted his friend.

"Yeah, I guess that you showed Alwyn how a real duelist fights, eh?" Robert asked.

"Haha, thanks for the concern and don't you worry, Alwyn won't be bothering us for a long time coming!" Subaru assured them.

"Then it's all up to Tiger now. He is going to face the strongest of them all. Let's hope he'll make it through." Hanna said.

"Don't worry, Tiger has trained a lot and updated his deck ever since Kaizer first defeated him. I trust that he will be able to defeat the armored freak." Subaru replied.

And so they all switched their attention to what really mattered: the duel between Tiger and Kaizer. The match was still at its beginning phase and both players had just finished their first turns and have one mana card each. Now it was Tiger's second turn and he drew a card, charged mana and said:

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie! With its effect I destroy her and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone!"

A green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress appeared for a few moments and blew up, sending the top card of Tiger's deck into the mana zone, the card being Yattare Pippi and landing tapped because it was a rainbow card.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card." Kaizer said and a red and blue cat appeared by his side.

"You villains really need to find better cards, because I've seen this one being used by you guys for too many times!" Tiger complained.

"Tsh…" was Kaizer's only response.

"I summon Iron Arm Tribe and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone!" Tiger said and then a green horse like warrior wielding a club appeared behind him and made the top card of his deck which was Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord land into his mana zone.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and end." Kaizer said.

"I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and gain another mana. Then I put Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ into the battle zone!" Tiger said and then a white wolf warrior wielding a flame sword appeared behind him and howled.

"Evolution! Hot Spring Crimson Meow, become Unified Shachihoko Kaiser!"

Kaizer's cat got surrounded by a shining aura and turned into a three headed metallic alien dragon that lacked eyes. The creature roared loudly at Tiger and then its master ended his turn.

"Alright, let's not panic yet!" Tiger said and then he showed a fire card to his opponent. "I summon Raging Apache Lizard and with its effect I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon wielding two yellow flame swords appeared behind him and roared.

"Victorious Gaial Kaiser is a speed attacker that can attack untapped creatures when it enters the battle zone, so I now attack Maxval with Victorious Gaial Kaiser!" Tiger said and the dragon used its swords to slash Kaizer's creature to bits. "And since one of my Fire or Nature Hunters had won a battle, Jin's effect lets me put a psychic creature that costs less than that Hunter into the battle zone, so I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser!"

The blue dragon that Subaru used against Alwyn appeared by Tiger's side as well.

"Now you'll have to put cards in your mana zone tapped! And now I end!"

"Then it is time for me to unleash hell!" Kaizer decalred.

"What?" Tiger asked and sweated.

"I summon Murian and destroy him to draw a card. Then with Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!"

A three headed red robot with flame throwers and water sprinklers appeared behind Kaizer. The armored duelist then continued his turn by saying:

"I summon another Murian and destroy him to draw a card. Then with Unified Shachihoko Kaiser's effect I put Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser into the battle zone!"

A three headed alien dragon in a sharp metallic armor and with red wings appeared next to Unified Shachihoko Kaiser and shrieked loudly.

"And now, Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, destroy Victorious Gaial Kaiser!" Kaizer ordered and the two dragons battled, the one belonging to Tiger losing and getting destroyed by the other. "I end my turn."

"Crap! This isn't going on the way I wanted!" Tiger thought and drew his next card only to be disappointed to get a Jasmine, Mist Faerie. "Oh great… now what am I going to do?"

Tiger sighed and simply put the card into his mana zone and ended his turn. Kaizer then began to laugh, something extremely rare for him, and that devilish laughter got right to Tiger's heart which began to beat faster. Once he stopped laughing, Kaizer turned to his opponent and gave him a paralyzing stare with his red eyes while saying:

"You're way out of your league, chosen nature duelist! You should have probably let your friend Subaru face me instead. But since you chose to sign your death contract, let me signal your demise!"

Kaizer put a card tapped in his mana zone and showed a water spell while saying:

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery and reveal the top three cards of my deck!"

The cards were Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian, Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Self-Destructing Gil Poser. The first two went into his hand because they were Light and Darkness, while the third one went to the graveyard because it had none of those two civilizations. Then Kaizer tapped two more cards and showed one of the cards he drew while saying:

"And now I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy it! With its effect I put Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler into the battle zone!"

A fat sumo alien made of lava appeared behind Kaizer and joined his other alien companions. Thus the evil genius ended his turn. Tiger drew his next card which was Faerie Life, yet another useless card. He put it into his mana zone and ended his turn. Now all seemed lost for him.

"Prepare to meet your doom, chosen nature duelist!" Kaizer announced. "Psychic link! Gallows Hellish Dragon, Brink of Despair!"

Kaizer's three psychic alien creatures united and got surrounded by a bright aura. When the aura faded away, they turned into a huge dark blue dragon with three long heads and two sharp wings that each had a huge mouth with sharp teeth on their upper side. The dragon also had sharp paws and sharp claws.

"Attack, Gallows Hellish Dragon, and mill his deck!" Kaizer ordered and the dragon screeched at the blonde teenager and made all of the cards from his deck with the exception of the last two fall into his graveyard, and afterwards it fired lasers from its mouths and took down three of Tiger's shields. "Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, break his last shields!"

Tiger took cover as his last two shields got broken by Kaizer's creature. That was it. Kaizer was simply way too powerful for him. It seemed that Tiger was not able to resist him. If that was true, then the world as they all knew it was doomed.


	39. The Bringer of Chaos dies?

The noises that were made by Tiger's and Kaizer's duel outside were what woke up the armored being's minions. They all got up and looked at the situation. The whole inside was upside down and there was no sight of Kaizer or Robert whatsoever.

"What's going on here?" Leona asked.

"Better question: where is Kaizer-sama?" Raiden asked.

"The chosen duelists were here, la. They beat me up, but Kaizer-sama said he was going to face them instead." Alwyn explained.

"Then let us see how he is doing." Alien suggested and pressed some buttons on the main computer.

In a matter of seconds the lights in the UFO turned on once again and its cleaning devices began to put things back to their place. Then its cameras got opened and on its main screen the image of Kaizer dueling Tiger appeared. The situation wasn't too good for the chosen duelist. His opponent had Gallows Hellish Dragon, Brink of Despair and Unified Shachihoko Kaiser out and all of his five shields intact, while he had no shields and only Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ and Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone. What he had gotten from his shields were mostly useless cards, those being Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Yattare Pippi, Iron Arm Tribe, Silver Shovel and Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole. And only to make matters worse, due to Gallows Hellish Dragon's effect, he had lost most of the cards from his deck with the exception of the last two. Once one drew the last card of their deck, they lose the duel. That meant that Tiger had to win the game right then and there or else in his next turn he would be toast if Kaizer's creatures wouldn't be making him toast first.

"Tsh, if only I had one certain card…" Tiger murmured and then he took a look at the ten cards in his mana zone. "Just a card…"

"What's the matter, chosen duelist? All your confidence has gone out the window?" Kaizer mocked.

"Oh no, Tiger's done for!" Hanna exclaimed. "I've faced Gallows Hellish Dragon myself and could not win in just a turn the way he is now required!"

"He will need a miracle to get out of this one!" Robert added.

"He's a chosen duelist, I'm sure he'll be able to pull out something, right Subaru?" Blane asked.

"In this situation, Blane, I honestly don't know…" Subaru replied and then he clenched his fists and spoke in his mind. "Come on, Tiger, you can do it! Don't let us down now; a whole world is counting on you!"

On the other hand in Kaizer's UFO his minions were all rejoicing.

"Alright, you go, Kaizer-sama, kick his ass!" Raiden exclaimed.

"You show him who the boss is, la!" Alwyn added.

"Terminate that fool and prove your might once again, master!" Alien cheered.

"Heh, Kaizer will showcase his power once again. This will be fun to watch!" Leona silently spoke to herself.

Now it was Tiger's turn and silence had fallen upon the battlefield. Everyone was anxious to see what the chosen nature duelist would do. In those moments every move was crucial and could decide the fate of the entire game and the world itself.

"Come on, deck, give me something good, the whole world is counting on us!" Tiger spoke and then he slowly approached his hand to the stack of two cards that represented what was left of his deck.

In the next moment a wave pulsated out of the deck. Tiger felt it and soon his hand got surrounded by a green aura. At first he was skeptical, but then the blonde teen drew his next card and all of a sudden his jaw dropped.

"Well, what did you get?" Kaizer broke the silence.

"Oh nothing, just the card that will mark your downfall!" Tiger declared and then five cards in his mana zone tapped themselves as he showed the card that he had gotten. "I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and with its effect I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone!"

The red armored dragon wielding two yellow flame swords appeared behind Tiger. However, that didn't impress Kaizer at all.

"Hah, is that all you've got?" the diabolical genius asked.

"Oh no, Kaizer, I've got much more!" Tiger replied and then he selected another card in his hand as the other five mana cards tapped themselves. "I cast… another Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole! With its effect I put Victorious Pudding Pudding into the battle zone!"

A purple haired princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared between the two dragons.

"With Pudding Pudding's effect your Unified Shachihoko Kaiser can't attack in your next turn!" Tiger said.

"As if that matters, even if you manage to somehow bring down Gallows Hellish Dragon, you will still lose because you will draw your last card!" Kaizer reminded him.

"Think again, Kaizer! Victory Psychic Link!"

Pudding Pudding got surrounded by a white aura and she cast two bright beams upon Meteor Kaiser and Gaial Kaiser, uniting all three of them into one. When the light was gone, everyone saw a giant winged dragon that shined with the colors of the rainbow, though gold was the predominant one. It also wielded a sword with its tail.

"Impossible! It linked right in the turn when all three creatures were in the battle zone!" Kaizer spoke amazed.

"Arise, Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory!" Tiger shouted and the dragon roared a battle cry.

That was it; Gaial Ore Dragon and Gallows Hellish Dragon were face to face. The greatest weapon of the Hunters was about to clash with the greatest weapon of the Aliens. For a moment, Subaru sobbed and silently spoke to himself while still staring at the magnificent scene:

"Shubham, you were wrong, this is where the real clash between the Aliens and the Hunters takes place… Our duel was nothing compared to this."

Even Kaizer was amazed by the power of Gaial Ore Dragon. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. For a moment he even forgot of the power of Devil Diabolos Zeta, for he was in awe of the great creature that was lying in front of him.

"And now, Gaial Ore Dragon, it's time to attack!" Tiger ordered. "Destroy Gallows Hellish Dragon!"

The two dragons flew in the air making an amazing light spectacle and then they both charged at each other and attacked, their heads clashing together. However, Gaial Ore Dragon's power was bigger and Gallows Hellish Dragon was broken, Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler disappearing and Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows along with Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser remaining in the battle zone.

"When Gaial Ore Dragon wins a battle, it untaps and two of your shields are broken!" Tiger said and then Kaizer watched with shock how two of his shields got broken. "And now go, Gaial Ore Dragon, destroy Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser!"

Gaial Ore Dragon descended from the skies and seared through the air with great speed, its target being Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser. The Hunter Dragon hit it with its head and the creature shrieked in pain and disappeared as well. Then its card untapped and once again Kaizer lost two shields.

"Gaial Ore Dragon, take down the last piece of the Hellish Dragon!" Tiger ordered.

Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows tried to fly away and escape but Gaial Ore Dragon swung its tail and the sword that it was holding managed to cut the Alien into half, making it explode. Once again its card untapped and now Kaizer's last shield got broken. It seemed that luck didn't favor the armored duelist that day, for he got no shield triggers. Now he was left defenseless in front of the mighty Gaial Ore Dragon.

"Oh yeah, you showed him, big guy!" Blane cheered and gave Tiger a thumb up.

"I knew you could do it, Tiger! Show him the power of the chosen duelists!" Subaru added with more cheers.

"How could this have happened? I cannot lose!" Kaizer said with fear while taking two steps back.

"It's game over for you, Kaizer! Your fifteen minutes are up!" Tiger declared and then he tapped the tri psychic link creature. "Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory, todomeda!"

The dragon fired a powerful laser beam from its mouth that hit the armored duelist. Kaizer cried with great pain and in a matter of seconds an explosion occurred in which he disappeared. Victoriously, Tiger turned to his friends who had witnessed the whole scene and shouted:

"IT'S OVER!"

"Yahoo!" Hanna yelled and jumped in the air.

"You did it!" Robert exclaimed.

"Amazing! The world is finally rid of Kaizer!" Blane remarked.

"I knew he'd win!" Subaru happily spoke.

Then a rain of cards began to fall from the sky. Between them there were cards like Fuuma Bajir, Soul Weapon, Hyperspatial Revive Hole, Zabi Fly, the Pillager, Zero Phoenix, Phoenix of Darkness, Cocco Lupia, Faerie Gift, Infernal Smash, Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye, Self-Destructing Gil Poser, Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade, Destruction Destroyer, Infinite King, Phal Pierro, Apocalyptic Guardian, Murian, Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Unified Shachihoko Kaiser, Intense World! Shachihoko Kaiser, Intense Sumo! Thrust Wrestler, Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows, and many more.

"Those are cards from Kaizer's decks…" Hanna noticed.

"Haha, who would've guessed that we'd get some free cards just by defeating Kaizer?" Blane joked.

"Look!" Subaru said as he saw a piece of paper falling from the sky along with the cards, which he caught. "It's the map of Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple."

Meanwhile inside the UFO of Kaizer the mood had shifted from cheers to mourning. The quartet had just lost their master much to their shock and now they were left without a purpose once again.

"This can't be! Master is gone!" Alien said while staring at the screen.

"I don't believe it! He's actually gone, la!" Alwyn added with shock.

"Kaizer-sama… NO!" Raiden shouted and hit the floor with his fist.

Leona walked outside and looked at the chosen duelists' team that was enjoying their victory while the shower of Kaizer's cards was falling on them.

"You, the one who represented power, have been surpassed for once by one of those weaklings. And what was your mistake? You underestimated your foe, that's what. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!" Leona said and then she spat on the ground.

Inside the chosen duelist UFO, Nolan ran all the way to the hospital room and turned on the lights waking Tamma, Luna and Tsugumi up.

"Gee, Nolan, what's the big deal, we're trying to get some sleep!" Tsugumi said.

"Guys, you won't believe what just happened!" Nolan excitedly spoke.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"Kaizer was defeated! Tiger destroyed him in a kaijudo duel!" Nolan shouted.

"Yes! We did it! We did it!" Tamma jumped out of the bed happily.

"Such wonderful news! I have to write in my cyber notebook about this!" Luna added.

"Thank goodness, we finally made it!" Tsugumi sighed and fell back on the bed stretching her hands. "These last three days felt like an eternity to me…"

"Don't worry, with Kaizer gone you guys can relax at last." Nolan said to the girl and then he set his mind on the next plan to find Tigra and her lair.

And so the heroes all entered their UFO and took off from the Siberian taiga, heading for home. It was finally over; they had won at long last. As for Kaizer's minions, they did not bother with them anymore for they knew that without someone to guide them they wouldn't be a threat.

But little did anyone know that back in the tundra, lying next to the shores edge, being touched by the waves of the Arctic Ocean was Kaizer's armor. His left horn had been blown off along with his left arm, he had a huge hole on the left side of his chest, the red cape had numerous burns and his left leg was heavily damaged. Despite all that, the red dots that represented his eyes reappeared once again and he saw the light of the moon shining down upon him.

"Am I alive?" Kaizer mumbled.

A few moments passed and he heard the waves of the ocean and got a better look at the night sky. It was clear to him now, he was indeed alive.

"I survived; I made it… but how?" Kaizer said and then he lifted his right arm in the air and stared at his right hand that was reaching to the nocturnal sphere almost as if it was trying to get power from it.


	40. Ambition

Kaizer slowly walked down the Siberian tundra during that cold winter night. Lacking his left arm and having his left leg damaged, it was very hard for the armored being to move. With each step he made, he felt as if he was losing his equilibrium even more. But what else could he do? He was stranded in a lone place, far from any signs of civilization. His only choice was to get out of there. While he was doing his walk, all he could think of was the map that he had lost and that had gotten in the hands of his enemies, the chosen duelists. But what was more shocking for him was the fact that he, Kaizer, the Bringer of Chaos and Destruction, had lost… to the chosen duelists, nonetheless.

"How could I lose? My decks were supposed to be the strongest there are…" Kaizer spoke to himself.

All of a sudden, he lost his power and could not even walk anymore. Kaizer fell on his knees and stared at the snowy ground. That was when in his mind he pictured the scene of his defeat at the hands of Tiger and his Gaial Ore Dragon.

"_How could this have happened? I cannot lose!" Kaizer said with fear while taking two steps back._

"_It's game over for you, Kaizer! Your fifteen minutes are up!" Tiger declared and then he tapped the tri psychic link creature. "Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory, todomeda!"_

_The dragon fired a powerful laser beam from its mouth that hit the armored duelist. Kaizer cried with great pain and in a matter of seconds an explosion occurred in which he disappeared. _

When the flashback ended, Kaizer clenched some snow his fist and growled angrily. His damaged armor got surrounded by a black mist and then he had a vision of an altar that was surrounded by five large statues. Above the altar there was a stained glass ceiling that depicted Diabolos Zeta whose hand was reaching for the Proof. And there, floating above Kaizer, was it, the prize he was seeking – the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened.

"My goal… I was so close to accomplishing it…" Kaizer murmured and then he reached his hand to the card the same way the creature in the stained glass was reaching.

The card shined with a purple light and threw a wave against him that pushed the armored duelist back. However, Kaizer insisted and kept reaching to the card while growling with his demonic voice. Then he spoke loudly towards it:

"How dare you resist me? You belong to me!"

"Do I, Kaizer?" the card responded. "Someone as weak as you is not worthy of my power!"

"No, you will be mine, Devil Diabolos Zeta! As long as I live, I, Kaizer, will never give up!" Kaizer continued and then his right hand grabbed the card. "I will crush any being that stands in my path! Nobody, not even the chosen duelists, will keep me away from you!"

Dark beams came out of the card that was in Kaizer's grasp and hit him, throwing him in the air and turning his whole body into darkness. Then they began to remodel it into something stronger than what he previously had. In the next moment the vision of the altar and Devil Diabolos Zeta's card disappeared and Kaizer landed on the ground, the darkness around his body disappearing. Feeling his limbs normal once again, he walked to the water and stared at his reflection as the moon shined upon him. Kaizer's armor was now golden, with a brand new red cape and a gladiator helmet with three down pointed horns, two being on his cheeks and the third on his forehead.

A month had passed since the defeat of Kaizer and everything seemed to have returned to normal. Tamma, Luna and Tiger all returned to school and resumed their normal lives. Robert and Nolan continued their ground work on finding Tigra and her lair. As for Subaru and Tsugumi, the couple spent their holidays in the city with Blane guarding their backs. However, once the world entered the New Year of 2102, they had to take off once again for a new mission, one which the others could not understand. But the other three chosen duelists were eagerly waiting for the return of their teammates.

Once the holidays ended, school began once again much to the annoyance of most students. After the first day of courses at the Duel Masters school that was no longer just a summer school, Hakuoh had the three young chosen duelists remain in his class to discuss a few matters with them.

"So Subaru and Tsugumi are on the road once again?" Hakuoh rubbed his chin.

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama, they did not even wait for the New Year's party to finish for they both rushed to the UFO and took off." Luna answered.

"Hm, that is indeed strange. Do you possibly have a clue as to what's bothering them?" Hakuoh asked.

"Maybe they're on a honeymoon." Tamma suggested.

"Aren't you a little too young for such assumptions?" Hakuoh raised his eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tamma raged.

"Calm down, he didn't mean to insult you." Luna intervened.

"No, it's got nothing to do with that." Tiger said with a contemplative voice while staring through the window at the snowfall from outside. "They're afraid."

"Afraid? Of what exactly?" Hakuoh asked with interest.

"That the evil has not been completely vanquished." Tiger replied and then he sighed. "Let's just hope that's not the case."

"Tiger, you are not making any sense." Luna broke it to him.

"When I defeated Kaizer with Gaial Ore Dragon, even I thought that it was too good to be true. Subaru shared the same sentiments with me and we've discussed a little in private. He told me that once the holidays are over, he and Tsugumi will go and find the last map piece to complete it. Afterwards they will hide the map in a secret place where no evil mind could find it." Tiger explained.

"But why are they so concerned? I highly doubt that Leona, Raiden, Alwyn or Alien will be able to do anything without a leader." Hakuoh brought up.

"That might be true. But have you ever taken into account that one of them would want to continue their master's legacy and might cause problems to us? Or even worse, that Kaizer might have survived?" Tiger suggested. "Look, I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic here; all that I'm saying is that I want us to be more cautious. Until I am sure that there are no more dangers involving that Devil Diabolos Zeta, I cannot rest calmly."

"I see. Well in that regard, I suggest that we wait for Subaru and Tsugumi to return with the final map piece and after that we will see what needs to be done." Hakuoh proposed.

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama!" the trio answered.

"Oh, and one more thing, tomorrow there's a special test from chapter 7: combo decks! You better know all of the important combos if you wish to have a good grade!" Hakuoh said to them with a teacher's evil smile.

"A TEST?! SO SOON?!" Tamma yelled.

"Fantastic! I can't wait to have fun answering the questions!" Luna happily said.

"Oh great, exactly what we needed." Tiger spoke with disappointment.

"This should get their minds off the chosen duelist business for a while." Hakuoh thought.

Meanwhile searing through the skies in its never ending quest for adventure was the chosen duelist UFO. Aboard it were only three persons: Subaru the chosen darkness duelist, Tsugumi the chosen light duelist and Blane, their guardian. Of course, there was also Edo, the ex-chosen water duelist, but he was only a living vegetable lying on a hospital bed. The trio of duelists was all sitting in the control room, Blane setting the coordinates of the spaceship to Saudi Arabia and the autopilot on, and Subaru and Tsugumi discussing recent events while sitting at a table and having a small snack.

"Do you think that this battle is over for good?" Subaru asked while spinning a spoon in his cup of chocolate milk.

"Yes, Subaru, it's finally over." Tsugumi answered and then she took a bite from a chocolate bar.

"I'm serious, Tsugumi, I really want it to be over!" Subaru insisted. "I realized that we've wiped out Kaizer, but I can't stop thinking that we're omitting something!"

"I think that you're worrying a bit too much, my love. Yes, I realize that Kaizer's minions might cause us some trouble, but as long as we have this in our possession, they won't be able to get their hands on Devil Diabolos Zeta anytime soon." Tsugumi said and then she took the incomplete map out of her skirt's pocket.

"I just can't shake the feeling that… somehow he's still out there. And one day he might be coming back for revenge." Subaru confessed while staring at his own reflection in the hot chocolate milk.

"Hey dude, what's with that big frown of yours?" Blane intervened. "Come on, relax! Kaizer's done for and with him out of the way it will be a piece of cake finding that last map piece and hiding the whole thing away from the rest of the world."

"Blane is right. You should probably take it easy." Tsugumi suggested.

"Maybe I should…" Subaru contemplated and then he sighed. "Oh gosh, why is life so difficult sometimes?"

"Don't worry, whatever happens, we're always here for you." Tsugumi assured him and then she got up from her seat and hugged her pessimistic lover who in return gave her a smile and hugged her back.

Things weren't going too brightly at Kaizer's UFO. With their master gone, the four villains didn't know what to do anymore. During that month Alien searched the whole planet for Kaizer but they couldn't find any sign of him. And with the beginning of the New Year, they managed to finish scanning the whole planet without checking twice. Their master was nowhere to be found, much to the despair of some.

As the UFO was floating in the air without a certain direction, Alien stared at the computer emotionless. Alwyn was cooking so that he would not get bored, and Leona and Raiden were sitting in different corners doing nothing but waiting anxiously for something to happen. The atmosphere was tensioned and the silence seemed to only add to it. Not being able to take it anymore, Raiden loudly walked to Alien and said:

"Well have you found him yet or not?!"

"I am sorry, but there are no signs of Kaizer-sama anywhere." Alien said.

"He has to be out there somewhere… and I won't give up until I find him!" Raiden declared.

"I say that we're wasting time!" Leona suddenly intervened and walked up to them. "If Kaizer were alive, he would've come to us by now."

"But what if he is hurt or dying? We have to rescue our master!" Raiden argued.

"Face it, Raiden, Kaizer is no more! And I for one don't want to spend the rest of my life searching for a dead… thing or whatever he was." Leona announced.

"I agree with her, la!" Alwyn's voice resounded from the kitchen. "Things are getting boring around here!"

"But without Kaizer-sama there's nothing we can do!" Raiden argumented.

"You're wrong, we can continue his legacy! We can find Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple and get the power that he wanted!" Leona ambitiously said.

"Fool! That power is Kaizer-sama's alone, not ours!" Raiden continued the argument. "We are not worthy of Devil Diabolos Zeta's power!"

"Says who? You?" Leona mocked him. "I for one am sick and tired of this wild goose chase! I want to finish this quest, and you won't stop me!"

"Tsh, and what are you going to do? Go face the chosen duelists, get back the map and head to Saudi Arabia to the exact location of the final map piece?" Raiden hypothesized.

"Exactly!" Leona replied with her sly smile. "Alien, set coordinates for the chosen duelist UFO; it's time for me to face the five losers!"

"You're a fool if you think you're going to stop our search for Kaizer-sama!" Raiden intervened. "Alien, keep looking for our master!"

"Excuse me, but you're not the boss around here, Raiden!"

"Neither are you, Leona!"

"Oh, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" the Lioness said and took out her deck.

"If that's how we'll settle this, then so be it!" Raiden replied and took out his deck as well.

Two metallic dueling tables rose from the floor and both players walked to them and set their cards on them. Afterwards five shields rose for both sides and their match began.

"I cast Faerie Life." Raiden said and put the top card of his deck, Ghost Touch, to his mana zone.

"I cast Energy Stream." Leona said and drew two cards.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it." Raiden continued and then he watched how Jenny, the Suicide Doll landed in his mana zone. "I end."

"I charge mana and end." Leona quickly did her turn.

"What's the matter? Didn't get a good draw? How sad, seems like I'll have to get this party started since you're too much of a slowpoke! I summon Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord!"

A demonic lion with a large blue mane and yellow horns appeared behind Raiden and roared loudly at Leona. The girl smirked at the beast and said to her opponent:

"You're not the only one with lions here! My turn, I summon Muttamegas, Spirit of the White Lion!"

A purple robotic lion with a huge white mane and sharp golden jaws appeared behind Leona and roared at Raiden. However he was unimpressed.

"You want to play Hardcore Judge? Then let me help you, Leona! I summon Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling!" Raiden said and then a golden armored demon riding a horse appeared behind him ready for battle. "I attack with Bell Hell De Dios and destroy it to draw two cards! And now I end my turn."

"If you're bringing out the big guns, then so am I!" Leona responded. "I cast Heaven's Gate! With its effect I put Codename Oraora Leone and Codename Oreore Lionel into the battle zone!"

A winged golden robotic lion with laser guns on its shoulders appeared behind Leona, followed by a red armored robotic angel that wielded two swords with the colors of the rainbow.

"I attack with Muttamegas, Spirit of the White Lion and we play Hardcore Judge!" Leona said and both revealed their top cards, she having Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom, whereas Raiden having Death Six, Ruthless Prince. "Tsh, 5 VS 8, you won… Anyway, Muttamegas, break his shield!"

The purple robotic lion rushed at Raiden and slashed one of his shields with its paws. Then it returned obediently to its master. Raiden didn't show any signs of a shield trigger, so Leona ended her turn and he started his.

"I cast Zenith Plan!" Raiden said and then he revealed the top two cards of his deck which were Terror Pit and Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence". "Terror Pit goes to my mana zone and Radio Roses to my hand. And now I attack with Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling and we play Hardcore Judge!"

"Fool! Even if you win, Go Thousand will still be destroyed!" Leona commented.

Leona's top card was Codename Orewaleo, whereas Raiden's top card was Codename Hungry Elegance. It was 7 VS 8, so Raiden won.

"I choose to give -5000 power to Codename Oraora Leone! Go Thousand, attack Muttamegas!" Raiden ordered.

"Block the attack, Codename Oreore Lionel!" Leona said.

"Hah, got'cha! Ninja strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom!"

"Huh? But how is that possible? I didn't attack with any of my creatures!"

"Yes you didn't. But you see, Leona, ninja strike also works when the opponent's creatures block! So I give -6000 to Oreore Lionel and he loses the battle with my Go Thousand!"

Leona watched with shock how her robotic angel got pierced through by the spear of the golden armored demon. Raiden laughed maniacally as it seemed that he had gotten control over the field. The blonde girl tried to not let the crazy one get to her head, so she simply resumed her turn.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Then I summon Yosakoi, Leader of Spirits!" Leona said and then a golden mechanical winged lion appeared behind her and roared at Raiden. "Codename Oraora Leone, double break his shields!"

The winged golden robotic lion fired the laser guns from its shoulders and pierced through two of Raiden's shields. However both shields turned into two cards that shined with bright green lights.

"Shield trigger, I cast two Natural Snares and send Codename Oraora Leone and Muttamegas, Spirit of the White Lion to your mana zone!" Raiden said with an evil grin on his face and watched how Leona's creatures got surrounded by green auras and vanished into thin air, their cards landing in her mana zone. "And now, Leona, prepare to face hell! I summon Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence"!"

A blue and green demon with two laser guns on its back appeared behind Raiden and roared so loud that the entire UFO was shaken by the noise.

"By its effect I will draw five cards and you'll discard five!" Raiden said and then after he drew the five cards he pleasantly watched how Leona discarded her hand. "I end my turn."

"Grr…" Leona growled when she saw that her next card was Hatchaki. "I charge mana and end."

"What's the matter, Leona? Cat got your tongue? The Lioness has lost all of her power? Well that's sad, because now I'm about to send you back into the jungle! I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy Olzekia and Yosakoi!"

A black demon appeared in the battle zone wielding two swords and used one to destroy Leona's golden lion and the other to kill itself. Then Raiden tapped his Zero civilization card and said:

"Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence", triple break her shields!"

The demon fired the lasers from its guns and Leona was forced to take care so that she would not get hurt. However, when Raiden was about to tap his Go Thousand card, a bright light came from Leona's hand and tapped the card instead of him.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Counterattacking Silent Spark and tap all of your creatures!" Leona declared. "You want this to be a battle of the Zeniths? Then be it as you wish, I summon Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore"!"

A huge lion-headed white warrior with four arms, that was wielding a long golden sword in the lower right arm appeared behind Leona and shined with its bright light in the UFO. The two Zeniths were face to face in opposition. It was the Angel against the Demon. And there would only be one victor.

"When Lionel is summoned, I put the top card of my deck to my shield zone. And now you'll have to choose one of my shields and break it! Also, all of my shields are now shield triggers thanks to Lionel!" Leona said with a murderous grin on her face.

"I choose… this one!" Raiden said and pointed to a shield that got broken.

"Heh, shield trigger, I summon Codename Oreore Lionel! I end my turn."

"I'm not done with you yet, girl! I summon Codename Hungry Elegance! And now I attack with Radio Roses, break her final shields!"

Radio Roses repeated its attack once again but this time Leona didn't take cover for she had confidence in her shields due to her own Zenith. Smiling, she showed the two shields to her opponent and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Osso Leone, Scare Spirit and Codename Build Leone!"

"Oh crap!" Raiden exclaimed and stared with shock at the two giant blockers.

"And now it's time to finish this!" Leona declared. "I attack with Codename Oreore Lionel and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The two players revealed the top cards of their decks. Leona had Aqua Surfer while Raiden had Bronze-Arm Tribe. It was 6 VS 3, so Leona won and by her creature's effect she got Codename Orewaleo in the battle zone and the red armored angel took down Raiden's final shields with its rainbow swords. Sadly for him, there were no shield triggers.

"Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore", todomeda!" Leona ordered and the giant white lion warrior hit Raiden with its golden sword and blew him away, having him land against a wall.

"Bravo, Leona! You showed him who the boss is, la!" Alwyn cheered.

"So I guess that means that I'm in charge now!" Leona proudly said and Raiden stared at her angrily. "Alien, set coordinates for the chosen duelist UFO! We're getting back that map even if we'll have to take down the entire planet!"

"I couldn't agree more!" a demonic otherworldly voice spoke from the entrance.

"Who said that?" Leona asked and everyone turned their heads to the door.

Even though the UFO was flying in the sky, its door was opened and the one who entered it was a gladiator in a golden armor with a red cape. The four were amazed by his looks and the stare in his red eyes immediately reminded them of their master.

"Who are you?" Leona demanded an answer.

"I am Kaizer, and I have returned to you, my loyal minions!" the gladiator responded.


	41. Kaizer's return

It was past midnight in the middle of the Asian continent above which the chosen duelist UFO was flying. Since the auto pilot was on and the coordinates set to the exact location of the map piece in Saudi Arabia, its inhabitants could relax and wait for the moment of their arrival. But little did they know that things wouldn't be as easy as they thought.

As Blane and Tsugumi were sleeping in their rooms, Subaru was sitting in the kitchen with his deck in his right hand and a remote control in his left hand, trying to forget his worries by watching television. However he was woken from his thoughts by two loud knocks at the UFO's entrance door. Not wishing for the others to wake up from their sleep, he got up from his chair and walked to the entrance door, forgetting the fact that the spaceship was flying.

"I wonder who could be at this time of the night." Subaru said and stretched his hands.

When the chosen darkness duelist opened the door, he saw a raging Raiden yell at him:

"SURRENDER THE MAP, OR FACE THE WRATH OF…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Subaru slammed the door in his nose.

"Doesn't this idiot ever learn?" Subaru sighed.

Two even louder knocks followed. This time they sounded more metallic and for a moment Subaru felt chills go down his spine. It couldn't be? He was alive as he had feared? And he had already returned? With his hand trembling, Subaru decided to face his fear and slowly opened the door that revealed a gladiator in a red caped golden armor with three down pointed horns, two on his cheeks and one on his forehead. From the stare in his red eyes, Subaru had no more doubts, it was him, it was Kaizer. But his fears would soon wear off when his enemy began his speech.

"Good evening, dear neighbor, it is so nice to see you again after all this time!" Kaizer greeted him politely. "I am deeply sorry for having to bother you at this time of the night but I was wondering if you could be so kind as to borrow us some eggs for dinner and maybe also the map which I had lost in our last encounter?"

Subaru sweated heavily and slammed the door in Kaizer's nose as well. He didn't know if he was supposed to be afraid that his archenemy had returned or to be amused by the fact that he had not changed one bit. Contemplating a little at the encounter, Subaru once again opened the door and spoke to the gladiator sitting in front of him:

"I like your new costume, though."

Once again Subaru slammed the door. But knowing what would happen next; he simply made a few steps away from it and made a countdown with his fingers starting from five. As the countdown finished, the door was blown off and Kaizer entered the spaceship all by himself. Subaru also saw that his enemy's UFO was flying close to his.

"I will never understand you, chosen duelist. When a person nicely asks you to restore something that is rightfully theirs, why are you so mean as to refuse their polite demand?" Kaizer asked. "After all, we both know what will happen if you refuse to give me what I desire, and I really don't want to cause you more damage. It is just a waste of time and energy."

"I thought you knew by now, Kaizer, that we chosen duelists do not give in to the demands of people that are putting the fate of this world in danger!" Subaru replied and then he searched in his pockets and took out the incomplete map with his left hand and his deck with his right hand. "If you want the map, you'll have to get it the hard way!"

Two dueling tables rose from the metallic floor and both duelists put their decks on them and set their cards. Five shields rose for each and thus their match began.

"Ah, Subaru, the chosen darkness duelist, is this the first time we face each other?" Kaizer asked after he placed Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar into his mana zone. "I think so, because I do not recall ever facing you before."

"No, Kaizer, we've never dueled before. But now that we are, I'll try to send you back to hell, where you belong, you fiend!" Subaru declared and quickly placed Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist into his mana zone.

"Why are you so mean, Subaru? I have nothing personal against you; I just want back that which belongs to me." Kaizer defended himself and then he put Codename Bazagaze Ragon in his mana zone and tapped both mana cards. "I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her to gain one more mana."

"Don't you get it, Kaizer? You're endangering a world that I have to protect! And while I personally don't like the fact that I have to do it, I know that my friends are also in danger, and because of that I have to stop you!" Subaru explained and then he put Aqua Surfer into the mana zone and tapped the two cards. "I cast Emergency Typhoon, draw two cards and discard Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff."

"But why do you care about this world and your friends so much, Subaru? Don't you have other goals in life?" Kaizer asked and then he charged mana and tapped three of the four cards. "I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone."

"No, Kaizer, all that I want is to have a normal life with my friends. And as long as maniacs like you keep endangering them, I will never rest until you're defeated!" Subaru declared and then he put Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon into his mana zone and tapped all three cards. "I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

"I see now, we are both at opposite spectrums. It is a shame, Subaru, since you were the first chosen duelist who actually talked with me important matters. But if this is your choice, then I cannot change it." Kaizer spoke with disappointment and then he began his turn. "I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The top two cards from Kaizer's deck landed into his graveyard, those being Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jenny, the Suicide Doll.

"Then I put Bone Dance Charger into my mana zone and summon Necrodragon Onobashi Raon!" Kaizer continued.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and drew two cards, then discarded Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff. "I end."

"I summon Messa Danjiri Dragon." Kaizer said and put the fire card in the battle zone.

Subaru drew his next card and when he saw what it was, a victorious smile appeared on his face which made Kaizer curious. The black haired teen put Hades Death Gate into his mana zone and then he tapped all five mana cards and showed what he had drawn to his opponent while saying:

"Get ready for defeat, Kaizer! I cast Miracle Re Born! With its effect I put Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the battle zone from the graveyard!"

A red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind Subaru and made a third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card from his deck land into the graveyard. Then the chosen darkness duelist tapped the only darkness creature card he had in the battle zone and said:

"Since Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born to revive a second Zero Romanoff! With its effect I put another Miracle Re Born into my graveyard! And now, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The knight aimed both its guns at Kaizer and fired lasers from them, the beams taking down two of his shields. Seeing that there were no shield triggers coming from the opposing side, Subaru tapped the other darkness card and said:

"I attack with my second Zero Romanoff, cast a Miracle Re Born to revive a third Zero Romanoff and with its effect I put Hyperspatial Raiden Hole into my graveyard! Now go, Zero Romanoff, break two more of his shields!"

The second knight repeated the attack that the first one made, but this time Kaizer's shields showed signs of shield triggers. The shards united into two cards that shined with a red and a purple light. Kaizer showed them both to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Terror Pit and destroy your untapped Zero Romanoff! Also, shield trigger, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Super Go On Pippi!"

Two black demonic hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the third knight, crushing him into pieces. Then a pink chainsaw appeared and cut the fire bird with green sunglasses, making it disappear. Having nothing to attack with anymore, Subaru had to end his turn. Now Kaizer began his and he charged mana and spoke to his opponent:

"You know, Subaru, it is such a pity that your chances of getting shield triggers are now very slim."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Subaru asked.

"Look at your mana zone!" Kaizer pointed to the black haired teen's table where he saw that he had Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, Aqua Surfer, Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon and two Hades Death Gate in the mana zone. "Three of your shield triggers are already gone. And from what I recall you don't have that many."

"What's your point, Kaizer?"

"My point is… that this duel is over!"

Kaizer's Fire and Darkness cards from his battle zone began to shine as he tapped eight mana and put a Zero civilization card in the battle zone and said:

"Since Necrodragon Onobashi Raon and Messa Danjiri Dragon reduce the cost of my Unknown and Zenith creatures by 1, I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!"

A giant Spartan warrior wielding a lance in its left hand appeared in the battle zone.

"With Greatest Great's effect I revive Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jenny, the Suicide Doll!" Kaizer said and both mentioned creatures bounced off from his graveyard and landed in the battle zone. "Kiryu Jilves makes all my creatures speed attackers and slayers, so I attack Zero Romanoff with Greatest Great!"

The two creatures clashed and after an epic battle the Spartan warrior pierced through the knight's armor with his spear, destroying him.

"And now I also attack the other Zero Romanoff with Kiryu Jilves!" Kaizer continued and both creatures battled each other and died, the card of Kiryu Jilves landing tapped in Kaizer's mana zone whereas Zero Romanoff landing in Subaru's graveyard. "I end my turn."

Subaru was desperate. He had no more creatures in the battle zone, five mana cards and he couldn't really rely on his shields because most of his shield triggers were in his mana zone. The cards in his hand weren't really good either: Aqua Naruto Surfer, Super Go On Pippi and Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. However he did get a light of hope once he drew his next card. He charged mana and showed it to his opponent while saying:

"I'm not done with you yet! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Bronze-Arm Tribe! Then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone and destroy Greatest Great!"

The green horse like warrior blew up and then a purple hole appeared in the ceiling out of which descended a horned demon dressed in a golden armor, wielding two blue scythes, each with two blades, and riding a horned skeletal horse. As he landed, the demon slashed the Spartan warrior with its scythes, destroy him.

"Eternal Omega, Greatest Great returns to my hand once he leaves the battle zone!" Kaizer announced and took the card to his hand much to Subaru's shock. "Didn't expect this, right, chosen duelist?"

"Oh no, this means…" Subaru mumbled.

"I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!" Kaizer declared and then the Spartan warrior returned. "With its effect I put Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jasmine, Mist Faerie from my mana zone into the battle zone! Kiryu Jilves makes all of my creatures speed attackers and slayers, so I now attack with Greatest Great, quadruple break his shields!"

The Spartan warrior swung his spear majestically and used it to break through four of Subaru's shields. The black haired duelist took cover as the shield shards hit him. When they regenerated into cards, he had the disappointment of getting no shield triggers.

"Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar, break his final shield!" Kaizer ordered and the creature swung its scythe and used it to slash the chosen duelist's last shield.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Messa Danjiri Dragon back to his hand!" Subaru said and the blue surfer seared through the air and hit the dragon with its surfboard, making it disappear.

"It's over, chosen darkness duelist! Jenny, the Suicide Doll, todomeda!"

Heeding Kaizer's order, the white haired doll dressed in a dark red dress jumped at Subaru and hit him with her razor, making him fly in the air hurt. The duelist in gladiator armor fired a beam upon his defeated opponent and pulled the map out of his jeans' pockets, and then he left him to land on the floor. Kaizer packed his cards and hid the incomplete map in his armor. Afterwards he turned to Subaru and said:

"Thank you for your cooperation."

And so Kaizer turned around and walked out of the UFO victoriously. Even though he was wounded, Subaru forced himself up and walked to his room where Tsugumi was sleeping like a baby in the bed. There he gently shook her shoulder until she opened her eyes and saw the small wounds that were on him.

"Subaru, what happened, are you alright?" Tsugumi asked while getting up from the bed.

"Kaizer is alive!" Subaru exclaimed and left the girl stunned.

"Impossible…" Tsugumi whispered fearfully. "Tell me it's a joke, Subaru!"

"It's no joke, Tsugumi! He came here, he defeated me in a duel and he took back the map. Hurry, let's wake Blane up and move faster to the last piece before he has a chance to complete the map!"

The blonde girl nodded to him and both got on the move, she heading to Blane's room and him to the control room. With the return of Kaizer, the battle had resumed and now everything was a race for a piece of paper, every second that passed being important.


	42. The Cyber Tournament

That night, as the UFO of the villains was racing towards Saudi Arabia in search of the final map piece, Kaizer decided to celebrate his recent victory in a rather weird fashion. He created a special training program on Alien's computer and then with the help of the being from outer space he connected all of his minions to it by special helmets.

"Your attention, gentlemen! Before we begin this, I strongly suggest that you turn off the lights around here!" Kaizer said.

"No worries, Kaizer-sama!" Alien replied and clapped its hands, making all the lights from the UFO disappear.

In the next moment everyone saw a giant arena filled with people that were cheering. The arena had four dueling tables and two girls, both dressed in pink mini skirts and white T shirts. They also wore high heels and had red ties at their necks. One was blonde with her hair in two pony tails and the other was brown haired with her long hair being straight. Both had blue eyes and cute smiles.

"Hello, everyone!" the blonde girl saluted. "This is Kikki…"

"…and Nanna!" the brown haired one added. "And together we're happy to bring you the…"

"Cyber Duel Masters Tournament!" both exclaimed.

A huge wave of cheers and applause followed. Then two duelists walked to the dueling tables as the girls introduced them.

"We will have fourteen duelists at our tables today!" Kikki announced.

"Eeh? Is that so? Oh my God, girl, this will be so fun!" Nanna commented.

"I know, girl, it will be totally awesome! At the left table we have Alwyn the Onsen!" Kikki said and Alwyn waved his hands to the cheering crowd.

"And at the right table we got Robert!" Nanna added and an emotionless Robert sat at the table.

"Let the match begin!" both shouted.

"How is this possible, la? Robert is a program?" Alwyn asked while arranging his cards. "Hah, this will be easier than I thought, ah! Duel start!"

Thus the first match of the cyber tournament, Alwyn VS Robert, began.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card!" Alwyn said.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it!" Robert said.

"I summon Shooting Exedrive! Go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Shooting Exedrive, break his shields, la!"

The two creatures rushed at Robert's shields and took both down. Now it was the tall duelist's turn.

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Robert said.

"This is too easy, ah! I summon Shooting Exedrive! Go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Shooting Exedrive, break his shields!" Alwyn ordered and the two creatures repeated their attacks and took down two more of his shields. "This duel is as won!"

"Evolution, Ashliger, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" Robert announced and the angelic golden queen appeared in the battle zone. "Queen Alcadeias, destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow!"

"Hah, seems like this will be tougher than I thought…" Alwyn spoke in his mind.

"Alright, while these two are settling their score, we're moving to group B!" Kikki announced and gestured to the other two tables where an emotionless Nolan and an emotionless Subaru walked. "At the left table we've got Nolan Johnson!"

"And at the right table we've got Subaru Geki!" Nanna added. "Now let the duel begin!"

"Shields up!" both announced and thus their match started.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and discarded Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon.

"I summon Murmur, Apostle of Formation!" Nolan said.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!" Subaru continued and then the fire bird with green sunglasses materialized above him.

"I summon Cheering Pippi!" Nolan said and a fire bird holding a drum and two drumsticks appeared behind him.

"Meanwhile, let's see how the other duel is going." Nanna suggested and the attention turned to the other two dueling tables.

"I summon Immediate Effect! Hot Springs! Since he is a speed attacker, you are now finished! Todomeda, la!" Alwyn declared the direct attack and the red and blue alien hit Robert and made him disappear. "I did it, I won, la!"

"And the winner in group A is Alwyn the Onsen!" Kikki declared and the crowd cheered.

"And now it's time for two new contestants!" Nanna added and Alwyn also disappeared. "At the left table we have Kaizer-sama's most loyal minion, Raiden!"

"And at the right table we've got the chosen nature duelist, Tiger!" Kikki added.

The two duelists walked to the dueling tables. Raiden had his usual grin which revealed his thirst for battle while Tiger expressed no emotion whatsoever.

"Huh? No heroic speech? I see, he's just part of the program and will only duel. The good guys that we're facing here aren't the real deal. Oh well, it will be a nice training exercise!" Raiden thought.

The two raised their shields and thus their duel began.

"I cast Faerie Life!" Raiden said and got the top card of his deck to the mana zone.

"I cast Faerie Life!" Tiger said and got the top card of his deck to the mana zone.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!" Raiden said and got the top card of his deck to the mana zone.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!" Tiger said and got the top card of his deck to the mana zone.

"What's wrong with this program? Doesn't he have any original moves?" Raiden thought and then he shouted at the cybernetic incarnation of Tiger. "HEY PUNK, TRY THINKING FOR YOURSELF, WILL YA?!"

"Hehe, we'll get back to this match in a moment!" Nanna said while sweating. "In the meantime, let us see how Subaru and Nolan are doing!"

Everyone shifted their attention to the other duel and were shocked of seeing a shield less Nolan and Subaru having three tapped Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in the battle zone. Victoriously, Subaru tapped a fire card in his battle zone and said:

"Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, todomeda!"

Nolan was blown off by the dragon and thus he disappeared.

"And the winner is Subaru!" Kikki declared. "With the tables freed, it is time for us to move to the fourth match! At the right table we got the chosen light duelist, Tsugumi!"

"And at the left table we got the Queen of the Jungle, Leona!" Nanna added.

The two girls walked to the dueling table, Leona smirking and showing her killer intents while Tsugumi showed no emotion and remained cold like an ice pick.

"What a wonderful program!" Leona remarked. "I wonder if it also reproduced your amoeba brain, Tsugumi, hahaha!"

"Could you stop talking there?" Tsugumi coldly requested and took out her deck.

"Sure, but first before we talk, let's shake hands!" Leona suggested and walked to the chosen light duelist.

The Lioness stretched her hand in the air and the cybernetic Tsugumi grabbed it. Grinning, Leona tightened her grip on the girl's hand and made Tsugumi disappear.

"Heh, it seems that I've managed to hack the program! Now I'll be able to win my way out of this place in no time!" Leona thought.

"And the winner is Leona!" Nanna announced and the crowd cheered.

"Now let us check the duel in group A, shall we?" Kikki suggested.

"Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence", todomeda!" Raiden ordered and the demon fired its lasers and disposed of the cybernetic Tiger.

"Alright, it seems that the victor is Raiden!" Nanna said and Raiden also disappeared. "And now for our next match, at the left table we have the being from outer space, Alien!"

"What is going on here? Where am I?" Alien asked and walked to the two host girls.

"Sir, you are at the great Duel Masters Cyber Tournament!" Kikki answered.

"And what am I supposed to do here?" the being from outer space continued.

"You have to duel until you manage to win the tournament, so get to your dueling table!" Kikki explained and Alien, who was still a little confused, walked to his dueling table.

"And at the right table we've got the greatest Miku cosplayer of all time, Hanna!" Nanna said as the blue haired girl approached her dueling table. "Kikki, I love her clothes so much!"

"Me too, girl! Think we can still find those in shops?"

"I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet!" Alien began the match much to the surprise of the hosts who weren't paying attention.

"I summon Drilling Squito!" Hanna said.

"I summon Deis Bulldozer!" Alien continued summoning creatures.

"I summon Dark Lupia!" Hanna continued the same game.

"I summon Gaga Petrova, Light Spirit!" Alien put the third creature in his battle zone.

"I summon Necrodragon Giland!" Hanna did the same.

"Gosh, what a boring match!" Kikki remarked.

"Yeah, let's move on to the other group, shall we?" Nanna suggested.

When the girls turned their attention to the other duel that was already going on, they were surprised that the ones playing were Blane and Tamma. Because they were both programs, they didn't wait to be introduced and had already rushed to their match.

"Wow, what is my hottie Blane doing here?" Kikki asked and blushed.

"That guy… a hottie? Come on, girl, Kaizer-sama would crush him anytime!" Nanna replied.

"K-K-Kaizer? Just what the heck do you like about that armor freak, girl? Are you nuts?!" Kikki spoke with disgust.

"Ogre Kaiser Warrior "Win", todomeda!" Blane ordered and the dragon hit Tamma with its shields, making him disappear.

"And the winner is the man of my dreams, Blaney!" Kikki spoke with the voice of a girl who had just fallen in love.

"Meanwhile… let us see how the other two are doing!" Nanna suggested and turned to the other duel, ignoring the fact that her partner was still admiring the cybernetic version of Blane. "Wow, it seems that Alien has gotten Hanna on the run!"

"Captivating Dancing Alien, todomeda!" Alien ordered and the royal couple of aliens did a tango move and hit Hanna with their fists, making the girl disappear.

"And the winner is Alien! Now let us move to the second round!" Nanna said. "For the first match of this round we've got Alwyn VS Subaru!"

The two contestants appeared at the dueling tables and arranged their cards, getting ready for their match. Meanwhile, Nanna turned to her colleague and was shocked to see that she was still staring at Blane and to make it worse, now she was also drooling.

"Girl, snap out of it, we've got a job to do!" the brown haired girl waved her hand in front of the blonde's face but still got no response. "Alright, Kikki, if you help me host the rest of this tournament, I promise I'll get you a date with Blane, alright?"

"Heck yeah, let's do this!" Kikki burst out and then both girls turned to the match between Subaru and Alien.

"Since Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress makes all of my Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born to revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff which puts a third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into my graveyard! Go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields! Then I attack with my second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born to revive my third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff which puts another Miracle Re Born in the graveyard! Now double break his shields once again! Afterwards I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon! Go, Zero Romanoff, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and his three knights fired their guns and broke all of Alwyn's shields. "Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, todome.."

"Not so fast, la! Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Fighting Spirit! back to your hand!" Alwyn said and a blue surfer appeared and hit the red samurai dragon, making it disappear. "Now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and destroy Deepsea Typhoon! Then I put Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone! Go, Gaial Kaiser, break his final shields! Aqua Surfer, todomeda, la!"

The red armored dragon swung its yellow flame swords and slashed Subaru's last two shields and afterwards the blue surfer flew towards the chosen darkness duelist and hit him with his surfboard, making him disappear.

"And the winner is Alwyn!" both girls exclaimed and the crowd cheered. "Now moving on to our next match in group A, we have Raiden VS Leona!"

The two players approached the dueling tables, both with sly smiles on their faces.

"Hey Raiden, how about a friendly handshake before we begin?" Leona suggested.

"Yeah right, as if I didn't know that you've hacked the program so that you could eliminate your opponents through handshakes. Sorry, but I'm not that stupid!" Raiden said and took out his deck. "And besides, I am eager for a rematch!"

"Heh, this will be interesting!" Leona thought.

Meanwhile Alien was walking to the dueling table from group B since he was up next, even though the two hosts did not announce it yet.

"I wonder if there is some kind of prize. Maybe Kaizer-sama has some kind of reward prepared for me." Alien thought.

But then, much to the being's shock, it saw that Kaizer was sitting at the opposing dueling table with a defeated Luna at his feet.

"What are you idiot doing here?!" Kaizer asked with a tough voice. "You were supposed to duel a program and not me!"

"Kaizer-sama! And furthermore, he defeated Luna!" Alien spoke with fear. "How am I going to defeat him?"

Back at the other duel, it seemed that this time luck wasn't favoring Leona at all. She did manage to get Muttamegas, Spirit of the White Lion and Codename Oreore Lionel out, and she did manage to take down three of Raiden's shields, but she had lost all of her Hardcore Judge games. Also, Raiden had Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling, Olzekia, General of Decapitation and Death Six, Ruthless Prince which he used to wipe down most of the girl's creatures. Now Leona's two Angel Commands were both tapped and at Raiden's mercy.

"It's time to end this! I attack with Death Six, Ruthless Prince, double break her shields! And then with Olzekia, General of Decapitation, break her final shields!" Raiden ordered and both Demon Commands used their weapons to slash off all of Leona's remaining shields and the girl growled angrily at him, showing no signs of shield triggers. "Hahaha, revenge is so sweet! Go Thousand, Shogun of Gambling, todomeda!"

The golden armored demon rushed at her and hit the girl with its spear making her disappear. Raiden then laughed loudly and shouted:

"Hahaha, it seems that without cheating you're nothing at computer games, Leona!"

"And the winner is Raiden…" Kikki said while sweating.

"Anyway, let us see how the other duel is going on…" Nanna said and when she turned to the other two tables, she had the pleasant surprise of seeing Kaizer. "Oh my God, it's Kaizer-sama! Go get him, I know you can win!"

"Gaga Alcadeias, Lord of Enslaved Spirits, triple break his shields! Emperor Cebu Marco X, break his final shields!" Alien ordered and both aliens attacked and took down all of Kaizer's shields in an instant.

"So you dare attack your own master, Alien? Well, for that you will pay dearly! I summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life"!" Kaizer said and the giant Spartan warrior wielding a lance in his left hand appeared behind him. "With Greatest Great's effect I revive Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Jenny, the Suicide Doll! Kiryu Jilves makes all of my creatures speed attackers, so I now attack with Greatest Great and break all of your shields!"

The Spartan warrior swung his lance and used it to take down all four shields that belonged to Alien who was unlucky to get any shield triggers.

"Codename Bazagaze Ragon, todomeda!" Kaizer ordered and the dragon attacked Alien and made him disappear.

"And the winner is Kaizer-sama!" Nanna cheered with a fangirl voice.

"Alright, since my sweetie Blane cannot duel in this round, we will skip to the semifinals!" Kikki announced. "At group A's duel we have Alwyn VS Raiden!"

The two minions of Kaizer appeared in front of the dueling tables and already set their cards on, ready for the match.

"Hah, a duel against Raiden, Kaizer-sama's strongest weapon, this will be interesting, la!" Alwyn said.

"Enough babbling, you buffoon, it's time for a match!" Raiden coldly replied. "Duel start!"

"As for the second match…" Nanna spoke and turned to the other two dueling tables to see that Kaizer had not packed up his cards yet. "Um, Kaizer-sama, could you please pack up your deck? You must advance to the semifinals and face Blane Kaminaga."

"Rubbish! What meaning is in fighting a game in which you already know that you'll be the victor? So that you could see your own minions lose terribly and feel humiliated of having losers like them in your team?" Kaizer philosophized and then he turned his back and walked away. "I am going home!"

"Um…" Nanna mumbled. "I think I just lost my admiration for him…"

"Wow, girl, would you look at that? Alwyn is actually winning!" Kikki woke her partner up from her thoughts and made her turn back to the duel of group A.

"I attack with Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows and send your last two shields to the top of your deck, la!" Alwyn said.

"Impossible! This can't be!" Raiden said with shock.

"Gaial Kaiser, todomeda!" Alwyn ordered.

"Ninja strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 to Gaial Kaiser, destroying him!" Raiden said and then a purple demonic frog appeared out of nowhere and hit the red armored dragon with its giant tongue, killing him.

"If that's how you want it… Shooting Exedrive, todomeda!" Alwyn ordered and the red lizard warrior dressed in a silver armor rushed at Raiden and hit him with the spikes on its arms, making him disappear.

"And the winner is Alwyn!" both girls declared and the crowd cheered.

"And now we have finally made it, everyone, the finals of our tournament!" Kikki said.

"We have Alwyn the Onsen facing Blane Kaminaga!" Nanna added.

The cyber version of Blane appeared at the opposing dueling table where Raiden once was. Smirking, Alwyn shuffled his deck and prepared for the match.

"My God, he is so hot!" Kikki drooled once again while staring at Blane.

"Girl, wait until the tournament ends, will you?" Nanna scolded her.

"Alright, let's do this, duel start!" Alwyn announced and rose his shields, Blane doing the same.

"And so, ladies and gentlemen, the final duel begins!" Kikki spoke in the microphone.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card!" Alwyn said.

"I charge mana and end." Blane said.

"I summon Qurian and draw a card! Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Alwyn ordered and the red and blue cat jumped at one of Blane's shields and broke it with its claws.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper!" Blane said and showed a fire spell from his shield. "Destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow and Qurian!"

A pink chainsaw appeared out of nowhere and cut the red and blue cat and the little blue Cyber Lord that was driving a mini submarine.

"My turn, I summon Cocco Lupia!" Blane said and a red fire bird with a small crown appeared above him.

"I summon Shooting Exedrive, break his shield!" Alwyn ordered and the red lizard warrior attacked another one of Blane's shields with the spikes from its arms.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Exedrive!" Blane said and two black demonic hands grabbed Alwyn's creature and crushed it. "My turn, I summon Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed! Since it's a speed attacker, I attack with Choppaya Dragon and also with Cocco Lupia, break his shields!"

Alwyn took cover as Blane's creatures broke three of his shields. Then Blane returned the Dragon he had just summoned to his hand and said:

"Choppaya Dragon returns to my hand at the end of the turn and now you'll have to discard a card from my hand!"

"I choose… that one!" Alwyn said and pointed to a card from Blane's hand which he tossed to the graveyard and revealed to be Bolshack Superhero. "Alright, my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, destroy Cocco Lupia and put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone! Go, Victorious Gaial Kaiser, break his shield!"

A red armored dragon wielding two yellow flame swords appeared by Alwyn's side and rushed to Blane, cutting one of his shields with its swords.

"I summon Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed, break his final shields!" Blane ordered and his dragon repeated its attack, taking down Alwyn's final shields.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hot Spring Brain! Since you have two shields, I now draw three cards!" Alwyn said with a confident smile on his face. "And now it's my turn and it will also be the last of this game! I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!"

Another red armored dragon wielding two yellow flame swords appeared in the battle zone by the side of the first one.

"It's all or nothing! Gaial Kaiser, break his final shields!" Alwyn ordered and the dragon rushed at Blane and slashed his last two shields with the swords. "No shield triggers? Then this game is mine! Victorious Gaial Kaiser, todomeda, la!"

The other dragon attacked Blane with its swords and thus made him disappear.

"AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A WINNER! ALWYN THE ONSEN!" both girls shouted and the whole crowd began to chant Alwyn's name.

Back in the real world, Alien, Raiden and Leona had all fallen asleep with their helmets taken off. Kaizer was sitting by the computer watching how the game ended and shut itself down. Then, all of a sudden, Alwyn got up from the table he was lying on with his helmet still on and shouted:

"ALRIGHT! I DID IT, LA, I WON THE TOURNAMENT!"

Then Alwyn also fell asleep. Kaizer stared awkwardly at them all and gave his verdict:

"I'm surrounded by morons. But at least Alwyn has gotten better at dueling…"


	43. The map is complete!

It was a hard winter day at the city of our heroes. The snowfall was abundant and powerful. But that didn't stop the students of the Duel Masters school to come at its courses. At Hakuoh's class the teacher had given them a test on combo decks as he had promised them the other day and now all students were busy. The blonde teacher sat at the teacher's desk playing with his long hair and looking upon his students to make sure that none were inspiring themselves from sources other than their own brains.

After reading a question, Tiger would write the answer immediately if he was sure or just think up for a bit, shrug his shoulders and randomly write something down if he was unsure. For Luna the test was extremely easy. She had finished it in less than ten minutes after she had gotten it and after she checked all her answers twice and was sure that they were correct, she gave the paper to her teacher and was now sitting at her desk and reading a science book. As for poor Tamma, things didn't go very well for him. If he was getting better at dueling, he wasn't doing well at all at theory. And to make matters worse for him, he didn't study at all the previous night.

"Alright, you can do it, Tamma! Let's read the first question…" Tamma thought and took a look at the piece of paper.

_1 Out of the following Reanimator spells, which is not affected by the Hall of Fame in any way?_

_a. Inferno Gate_

_b. Inferno Sign_

_c. Miracle Re Born_

"What the heck is the Hall of Fame? All I know is that one is banned and the other is restricted. Oh well, Miracle Re Born is ok, I think I'll go with this." Tamma thought and chose the answer C.

_2. Transmogrify was restricted to 1. However, during the Awakening Saga there were creatures with a similar effect called: _

_a. Martial Touch_

_b. Chain_

_c. Soul Recall_

"What's a Transmogrify? Never even heard of that thing, or these stupid effects! I think I'll go with Martial Touch since I like martial arts." Tamma thought and encircled the answer A.

_3. Out of the following creatures, which fit the effect of Heaven's Gate?_

_a. Milzam, Spirit of Miracles and Syrius, Firmament Elemental_

_b. Bolshack Yamato Dragon and Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon_

_c. Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye and Alexander the 3rd, Emperor of the Demonic Eye_

"Alright, I think I know this one! Heaven's Gate is that annoying Light spell that puts huge blockers in the battle zone! But which of these creatures are blockers? Yamato Dragon and Samurai Dragon are in no way blockers! Romanoff and Alexander? I do remember Subaru using a Romanoff and it wasn't a blocker, so I'm guessing no. Well, Milzam and Syrius are left, so I'm going with this!" Tamma spoke in his mind and then he picked the answer A.

_4. Which spell can bring Codename Sherlock into play?_

_a. Inferno Sign_

_b. The Door of Miracle and Mystery_

_c. Positron Sign_

"Who in garlic's name is Codename Sherlock? What's this, a detective action movie or a Duel Masters test? Meh, I'll go with Inferno Sign since I know this card." Tamma thought and then he encircled answer A.

_5. Emperor Chirico can evolve on creatures with "Cyber" in their race or…_

_a. Samurai_

_b. Knight_

_c. Origin_

"Emperor Chirico? Where do all these strange names pop up from? What's next? Emperor Cherry? Emperor Chewing Gum? And how should I know its stupid race? I'll just go with Samurai since Samurais rock!" Tamma decided and picked answer A.

_6. Which of the following Cross Gears has Samurai in its race?_

_a. Tsunami Catastrophe_

_b. Bajula's Soul_

_c. Galaxy Blade – THE FINAL_

"Oh, that's an easy one! Galaxy Blade – THE FINAL!" Tamma rushed and circled answer C. "Haha, I wonder if there's some idiot who didn't know this one."

_7. Since Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force was restricted to 1, which would be the perfect replacement for it in a Miranda Gift deck?_

_a. Come On Pippi_

_b. Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard_

_c. Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure_

"Um… all are good psychic creature summoners, but… Gosh, how did Geo Crashing Miranda affect the game? Why was it restricted? Oh well, I'll just pick Come On Pippi for the heck of it!" Tamma encircled answer A.

_8. Which of the following psychic creatures brought back the strategy of milling the opponent's deck?_

_a. Gaial Kaiser_

_b. Volg Thunder_

_c. Gallows Cebu Kaiser_

"Milling? What in the name of Trading Card Games is milling?! Screw this crap; I'm picking Gaial Kaiser because he's awesome!" Tamma rushed to circle answer A.

Now that Tamma was done with the multiple choice questions, next was a true or false exercise. If the sentence was true, he had to put a T next to it, if it was false he had to put an F next to it and correct it.

_1. Cyber G Hogan can put creatures that have cost 8 or less into the battle zone._

"Never even heard of that guy, but I guess it's true." Tamma thought and put a T next to the sentence.

_2. Genji Double Cross has Samurai in its race._

"Of course he has it, that's why he's awesome!" Tamma put another T with a smile.

_3. Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole can put Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone._

"Haha, good trick question, Hakuoh-sama! But everyone knows that Bolshack Hole can put Fire psychics with cost 7 or less and Gaial Kaiser costs 8!" Tamma thought and then he put an F next to the sentence and corrected it.

_Hyperspatial Shooting Hole can put Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone._

"Alright, off to the next one!" Tamma spoke in his mind and turned his eyes to the next exercise. "Match the two columns to create the legal combos? Hm, let's see…"

The columns were the following:

_A_

_1 Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff _

_2 Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman_

_3 Faerie Gift _

_4 Evolution Totem _

_5 Codename Sorge _

_6 Victorious Gaial Kaiser _

_7 Aqua Super Emeral_

_B_

___a Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~_

_____b Cosmo Cebu Lambda, the Electromagnetic_

_c Game On! Kirifuda Family_

___d Volg Thunder_

_e Come On Pippi_

___f Miracle Re Born_

_g DNA Spark_

"That's easy! Zero Romanoff with Miracle Re Born! Faerie Gift with Come On Pippi! Victorious Gaial Kaiser with Game On! Kirifuda Family! Zabi Mira with…" Tamma then paused and stared at the columns. "I don't know! Why me? Oh well, I'll just put them at random! Zabi Mira with Cosmo Cebu Lambda, Evolution Totem with Jin, the Ogre Blade ~ Crimson Rage~, Codename Sorge with Volg Thunder, and Aqua Super Emeral with DNA Spark. I have to get something good out of it."

And now Tamma came to the final part of the test.

_Choose one of the following combo decks and explain in an essay between 100 and 150 words how it works._

_N EX_

_Madness_

_Volg Thunder deckout_

_Miramisu_

_Romanoff Reborn_

Tamma put his head on the desk and silently wept so that nobody could hear him:

"I'm dead!"

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia, the chosen duelist UFO was flying above a large desert. There was no trace of life to be found and everything seemed like a giant sea of sand. However, the computer on which they set the coordinates showed that the map piece wasn't very far, so all they had to do is keep going until they would reach the location.

"Man, there's just sand, sand and again sand! Are you sure this is the right way?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yeah, the map shouldn't be lying, after all it was build like a puzzle and it should lead us to the last piece!" Subaru explained.

"Look! I see some trees!" Blane exclaimed and pointed at the screen.

And he was right. The UFO was approaching an oasis, something extremely rare in a place like that. In a matter of seconds the spaceship landed near the mini island of tropical plants that lied in the ocean of sand. The trio got out and rushed into the oasis to find a small lake that was surrounded by four palm trees and a few bushes. But above the palm trees was a floating piece of paper. There was no doubt; it was the item they were seeking.

"That looks like a map piece to me!" Subaru said.

Smiling, Blane snapped his fingers and made Torch appear in the human world. The teenager hopped on the back of his creature which flew towards the map piece and he grabbed the paper immediately.

"Hah, I knew that in the end this mission would still be a piece of cake!" Blane spoke with a relaxed voice.

Suddenly a laser hit Torch and made the creature disappear and Blane fall and have a hard landing on the sand.

"Me and my big mouth…" he commented sourly.

"Oh no, it's Kaizer!" Tsugumi exclaimed as their enemy's UFO landed near the oasis as well.

The ship's main door opened and the evil gladiator walked out of it followed by his four loyal minions. The heroes could not run to their own ship to save themselves because the villains were blocking their path. After a few more steps, the two sides were face to face.

"Well, well, hello!" Kaizer saluted them.

"Oh great, not again…" Subaru sighed in annoyance since he had already fought the armored villain a few hours before.

"Hahaha, how could I let a young fellow such as you carry such a heavy burden all alone?" Kaizer joked and stretched his hand in the air for the map but Blane's response was him hiding the paper in his pocket and taking out his sword for a fight. "Now that you have found the final map piece, I have come to take my little prize, so hand it over!"

"You must be mistaken; you're not laying one finger on it!" Blane declared and rushed at the villain with his sword.

"Oh please…" Kaizer sighed and grabbed the sword with his bare hand much to everyone's shock. "I grow tired of your games!"

In the next moment Kaizer threw Blane and his sword away and had him hit a palm tree.

"Don't you kids get it? I am not leaving this place without the map piece!" Kaizer strictly said.

"Then you'll be leaving this place with your butt kicked!" Blane replied and approached the armored duelist once again, this time with his deck taken out. "Kaizer, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Blane, don't, he's much more powerful than you think!" Subaru intervened.

"Please Blane, let me or Subaru handle it!" Tsugumi added.

"No chance, guys! We've had to put up with this bastard's shit for far too long! I think it's high time someone kicked some manners into his thick helmet!" Blane spoke with determination.

"Then be as it may!" Kaizer replied and made two purple spheres appear and fly around his body. "Since my last encounter with your team, I have lost four of my decks. However, the fifth and sixth had survived. The sixth… will not be used yet, but I will gladly face you with the fifth!"

Kaizer reached into one of the purple spheres and took out a deck from it. Two dueling tables then rose from the sand and both players walked to them and set their cards on them. Afterwards they both made five shields rise by their sides and thus their match began.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Kaizer said and a white haired red eyed doll dressed in a dark red dress and holding a big razor appeared and used the razor to cut herself. "Then I discard a card from your hand!"

"Tsh…" Blane spat after he discarded Cocco Lupia. "I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

A fire bird with green sunglasses on its forehead appeared by Blane's side.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!" Kaizer said and then a horse like warrior wielding a huge fork weapon appeared by his side and made the top card of his deck go to his mana zone.

"I summon Mach Lupia!" Blane said and then a red fire bird with white metallic wings that held two fans appeared next to Super Go On Pippi.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!" Kaizer said and a green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress appeared and blew up making the top card of his deck go to the mana zone. "Bronze-Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

The creature roared and rushed at Blane using its fork to pierce through one of his shields.

"I summon Dark Lupia!" Blane said and then a purple bird with a skull on her head and wielding a scythe appeared and joined his other two fire birds.

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Kaizer said and then his top two cards which were Codename Bazagaze Ragon and Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo went to his graveyard. "Then I summon Messa Danjiri Dragon!"

"This is one weird looking duel." Subaru commented.

"Yes, such unusual moves from both Blane and Kaizer." Tsugumi added. "I wonder what they are cooking."

When Blane drew his next card, a smile of confidence appeared on his face. He quickly slipped Gaial Axel into his mana zone, tapped all six cards and then he showed to his opponent a fire spell that depicted Gaial King Dragon, Raging Dragon Lord in the background and the legendary Kirifuda brothers, Katsuta and Shobu, that were great champions in the past. The card shined with a bright red light and Blane explained its effect:

"I cast Go Duel Brothers and put all of my Fire Birds to the bottom of my deck! Then I'll reveal the top cards of my deck and put a non-evolution Dragon in the battle zone for each Fire Bird!"

In a swoop second Super Go On Pippi, Mach Lupia and Dark Lupia all disappeared and their cards went to the bottom of Blane's deck. Then the cards from the top of the deck began to reveal themselves. First was Bolshack Superhero which went into the battle zone and by its effect destroyed Kaizer's Bronze-Arm Tribe. Next was Terror Pit which went into the graveyard. Afterwards came Bolshack Cross NEX which went into the battle zone. Finally the next revealed card was Superspeed Revenge Dragon which also went into the battle zone. All three mighty dragons materialized in the battle zone and everyone stared with amazement at them.

"Three Dragons in just one turn… That was awesome!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Indeed it was. There's no way Kaizer can survive now!" Tsugumi added.

"It's time to say good bye, Kaizer! Bolshack Cross NEX, triple break his shields!" Blane ordered and the dragon jumped in the air and used its swords to slash off three of Kaizer's shields. "Superspeed Revenge Dragon, break another shield!" Blane continued and the black caped red armored dragon rushed with high speed at the armored duelist and used its crimson sword to slash another shield. "Alright, next turn you're history!"

"Think again, fool! Shield trigger, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Bolshack Superhero!" Kaizer said and a pink chainsaw appeared and cut down Blane's dragon. "And now it is time for you to see my real power! Since Messa Danjiri Dragon makes my Unknown and Zeniths cost 1 mana less, I now summon Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life!"

A giant Spartan warrior wielding a huge lance in his left hand appeared in the battle zone behind Kaizer and blocked the desert sun, casting a shadow over Blane and the two chosen duelists as it stared down upon them.

"With Greatest Great's effect I revive Codename Bazagaze Ragon! And since Messa Danjiri Dragon makes all my Unknowns speed attackers, I attack with Greatest Great, quadruple break his shields!" Kaizer ordered and the warrior swung its lance and took down Blane's last four shields one by one.

"Sh-shield trigger, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Messa Danjiri Dragon!" Blane said and the same pink chainsaw appeared and took care of Kaizer's dragon as well.

"It's over for you, Blane Kaminaga! Codename Bazagaze Ragon, todomeda!" Kaizer ordered and the red armored dragon wielding a sharp metallic gun in its left hand and a sword combined with a chainsaw in its right hand attacked the brown haired teenager and threw him in the air.

Kaizer then shot a beam upon him and took out the map piece from his pocket, and then he let the boy land on the hot sand defeated next to Subaru and Tsugumi. The evil genius in gladiator armor then took out the rest of the map and with just one simple move he united the two parts under the eyes of his minions and the two chosen duelists. What followed next was his terrifying demonic laughter:

"Hahahahaha, I've done it! I've finally done it! The map is complete!"

"Congratulations, Kaizer-sama!" Raiden complimented his master.

"I never had any doubts, sir!" Alien joined him with the compliments.

"At last we did it, la!" Alwyn cheered.

"Tsh… it was about time." Leona murmured under her breath.

"And now that I have my little souvenir, I'll take my leave!" Kaizer said and then he turned to his minions. "Leona, Raiden, you stay here and take care of the two chosen duelists once and for all!"

"As you command, Kaizer-sama!" the two loyally replied.

"Alwyn, Alien, let's go!" Kaizer said and then he walked to his UFO being followed by the other two minions. "Farewell, chosen duelists! I'll give your regards to Devil Diabolos Zeta!"

In a few moments Kaizer's UFO took off and Subaru and Tsugumi stared at it as the spaceship disappeared in the horizon. Then they turned their sights in front of them at the two duelists that were waiting with their decks ready to battle.


	44. The Power of the Lioness

Kaizer's UFO was flying far away from Saudi Arabia going southwards. The last piece of the map indicated that their final destination was somewhere in the South and they had no time to waste. Kaizer conjured Tabitha's spirit and the witch once again cast her spell upon the map and thus revealed the names and locations.

"This is it, Kaizer, you have accomplished the most important task. But now the hardest part of the journey awaits you." Tabitha said as the armored being inspected the map.

"Huh? The Indian Ocean? But where exactly could the temple be in the Indian Ocean? I see no islands anywhere near the X mark!" Kaizer telepathically communicated to the witch.

"Who knows? It will be fun seeing you search for the temple without my guidance, hahaha!" Tabitha laughed and disappeared.

"Damn that Tabitha!" Kaizer growled loudly and his two minions heard him.

"Huh? Who is Tabitha?" Alwyn asked.

"That is none of your concern!" Kaizer replied and then he turned to the other who was piloting the spaceship. "Alien, change the coordinates for the Indian Ocean! We're going to explore each and every bit of it until we find the temple!"

"As you wish, Kaizer-sama!" Alien obediently spoke and began pressing buttons on the computer to change its course.

At Hakuoh's class the one hour had passed and everyone had to give their tests to the teacher. Now the three chosen duelists were sitting outside in the snowy playground, Tiger lying against a tree with his arms crossed, Tamma making a snowman close to him and Luna sitting between the two boys holding her books that couldn't be put in her already full bag.

"Man, the test was so hard! When I reached the essay part I think I got sick…" Tamma complained.

"You always get sick when Hakuoh-sama gives us harder subjects." Tiger noted.

"Yeah, but I'd rather duel Kaizer and his bunch than take boring tests!" Tamma stated.

"I don't know why you're so unhappy, the test was really easy!" Luna happily said. "I think I might get more points for the lengthy essay that I've made on that N EX deck!"

"Tsh, nerd…" both Tamma and Tiger whispered under their breaths.

"Boys, I wonder how Tsugumi-chan and Subaru-san are doing." Luna changed the tone in her voice to a more concerned one. "Do you think they are alright?"

"Meh, I wouldn't worry about them, they can handle any situation." Tiger calmly replied. "I'm more worried about Kaizer."

"Oh, come on, Tiger, you yourself saw him blow up! What's there to worry about?" Tamma asked but received no answer due to Tiger turning his head to the sky out of which snow was still falling.

"How could I explain to him that somehow, I don't know how, the job that we did back there was left unfinished." Tiger thought.

Meanwhile at the desert in Saudi Arabia, as Subaru was checking the wounded Blane to see if his situation was critical, Raiden took a seat on the sand lying in a Turkish position while Leona and Tsugumi approached each other, ready to engage in a duel.

"Chosen light duelist, I've been waiting to face you once again for some time!" Leona eagerly said and took out her deck. "I don't know why but the thought of seeing you crushed under the might of my Lions seems vaguely arousing."

"There is no commentary to be made." Tsugumi replied with disgust and took out her deck. "However I did give my deck a little update. You're in for a surprise, Lioness!"

"Heh, I do feel that Tenshi, your avatar, has changed. She's now something different, but not that I care much, after all I will dispose of you before you get a chance to use her!" Leona declared and her deck shined with a bright yellow light. "Let's do this, Tsugumi, duel start!"

Two dueling tables rose from the sand and the two girls walked to them and put their decks on them, setting their cards for the match.

During that time, at the Indian Ocean there was a violent storm that kept the sky dark and brought even more water to the aquatic kingdom. Kaizer's UFO flied through the might of the abundant rainfall until it stopped a few kilometers away from the Maldives. The ship's door opened and Kaizer stepped to its rear end staring outside. All that he could see were raindrops falling into the violent ocean water.

"It has to be around here somewhere…" Kaizer whispered to himself and took a better look around only to see more water. "The map says that it is here. Unless… oh no, could it be? The monsoon!"

All of a sudden, a vision of a temple being destroyed by the power of the monsoon climate appeared in his mind.

"This can't be… Alien!"

"Yes, Kaizer-sama, I am here!" Alien rushed to his master. "Sounds like there's a problem!"

"Our quest for Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple may have turned into a fool's errant. The monsoon might have destroyed it!" Kaizer explained with disappointment.

"That is a problem…" Alien replied with shock.

"Could the building still exist?" Kaizer asked.

"Maybe it was pulled underwater." Alien suggested.

"That can't be, if it were pulled underwater, I might have sensed Zeta's presence, however I sense nothing around here." Kaizer thought and then he spoke to his minion. "Search the whole ocean; scan every single bit of surface until you find the temple! Failure is not an option!"

"I understand, Kaizer-sama!" Alien obediently replied and rushed back to the main computer.

Returning to the heat of the Arabian Desert, one would find it increased by the heat of the battle between Tsugumi and Leona.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Tsugumi said and then with Jenny's effect she made Leona discard Hatchaki.

"Hah, reverted to Light/Water/Darkness? Don't you get it that no matter what crappy civilization combos you make; you'll still stay a loser?" Leona mocked her.

"Laugh while you can, Leona, but in the end you'll see that good will merge victorious!" Tsugumi promised her.

"Yeah, when 'good' gets better duelists." Leona commented and then she showed her opponent a water spell. "I cast Brain Storm!"

Leona drew three cards and then she selected two cards from her hand and put them back at the top of her deck. Afterwards she ended her turn.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Tsugumi said and then she revealed the top three cards from her hand which were Prince Avaraldo, Cavalier of Thunder, Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and Hyperspatial Shiny Hole. "I take all three cards to my hand. And then, Gravity Zero, I summon two Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight for no cost since I have cast a spell!"

"Tsh, nice trick, but you see, Tsugumi, I don't like petty tricks if they're made on me!" Leona declared to her opponent. "Anyway, I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards."

"Well then, Leona, you'll have to endure it, because today I've got a lot of tricks up my sleeve!" Tsugumi replied. "I summon Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Aquan Jr's Delivery to my hand!"

"Oh, so you prefer spamming tiny blockers? How sweet, in the meantime I'll bring the bigger blockers out! I summon Yosakoi, Leader of Spirits!" Leona said and then a golden mechanical winged lion appeared behind her and roared at Tsugumi. "And he's just the first of many!"

"Don't you worry; I've got my own package of big blockers coming on their way!" Tsugumi assured her. "I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole! With its effect I tap Yosakoi and put Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon in the battle zone!"

"Oh? Resorted to psychic creatures? Not that they might help you much as long as I hold the upper hand!" Leona said and then she put a multicolored card in her battle zone. "I summon Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom and with its effect I draw a card!"

Even though Tsugumi's battle zone had more blockers than Leona's, the Lioness was growing the cards in her hand tremendously. And by Lord Reis' effect she would draw even more cards with the more blockers she would put in the battle zone. On her next turn, Leona would have six mana and Tsugumi knew what that meant: Heaven's Gate. There had to be a way to stop her opponent from spamming more gigantic blockers? But how?

"Tsugumi, don't panic, I know you can do it!" Subaru's voice woke Tsugumi up from her thoughts and had her turn to her black haired lover. "Just trust your cards and you will get their help!"

"Trust my cards…" Tsugumi mumbled.

"Hah, and you dare to listen to that wannabe Lion?" Leona laughed. "If a deck isn't filled with reliable cards, there's no point in trusting it."

"Yes, Leona, I dare to listen to this Lion, because he, unlike you, is not a poseur!" Tsugumi declared and then her hand got surrounded by a bright light as she drew her next card.

"That power…" Leona murmured with amazement as Tsugumi placed a new card in the battle zone.

"Evolution! Bloody Shadow, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

A female angel dressed in a golden armor with a red cape appeared behind Tsugumi who smiled slyly at her opponent. Now Leona would not be able to cast any spells as long as they were not multicolored, thing which locked down her shield triggers, but most importantly, it locked the Heaven's Gate that she had in her hand.

"That single creature… has foiled my plans." Leona murmured with shock.

"You were right, Leona, Tenshi has indeed changed. She is Queen Alcadeias! And with her power we shall win! Go, Tenshi, double break her shields!" Tsugumi ordered and the queen waved her hands and created a ball of light which she cast upon Leona's shields, breaking two of them into pieces.

When the attack was over, Leona was even more shocked to see that a second Heaven's Gate was in her shields. Still, all of the cards in her hand were useless. She had blockers that cost 7 mana or more and a spell that she couldn't cast. It was indeed a tough situation for her. Growling, Leona put Heaven's Gate in her mana zone and ended her turn.

"What's the matter, Leona? Did the little kitty get intimidated by my big bad queen?" Tsugumi mocked her back.

"Grr… When did you get so powerful?" Leona asked.

"I didn't get any new 'power'; I simply rebuilt my deck with the help of Subaru and Luna." Tsugumi explained. "If anything, this is the power of a united team."

"Bullshit! There's no such thing as unity, everyone is out there for themselves and they get together only when they have small similar goals, but once that goal is achieved, they return to their animal-like egoistic selves!" Leona spoke in a nutshell and at the end she spat in disgust. "Such lowly beings."

"If anyone here is lowly, that is you!" Tsugumi fought back. "You work just for the lols with a being that desires to unleash chaos upon our world and you kill innocent people that have nothing to do with our quarrel just for the hell of it! If that isn't an immature behavior, then I don't know what it is!"

"Shut up, bitch!" Leona became more desperate. "I have the power, and I will do what my brother said, I will decide your fates with it!"

"Yes, you're right, you have the power, but you don't know how to use it right! That's why you let the power reach your head!" Tsugumi said and made Leona widen her eyes surprised of the revelation. "Anyway, my turn, I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top three cards of Tsugumi's deck were Hide and Seek, Ghost Touch and Franz the 1st, Ice Fang. The first two went to her hand and the third went to her graveyard.

"Then I cast Hide and Seek!" Tsugumi said and bounced Lord Reis back to Leona's hand, and then she discarded Codename Oreore Lionel from it. "Tenshi, double break her shields!"

The queen repeated her attack and took down two more of Leona's shields. But this time one the cards that regenerated shined with a bright light. When Leona saw it, she smiled evilly, took it and showed it to Tsugumi while saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Counterattacking Silent Spark and tap all of your creatures!"

A light beam fell from the skies upon Tsugumi's table and tapped all of her cards in the battle zone.

"And now it's my turn, I summon two Murmurs, Apostle of Formation! Now all of my blockers have +6000 power and each Murmur has +3000! Go, Yosakoi, destroy Queen Alcadeias!" Leona ordered and the golden lion jumped at the angelic queen and tore her to shreds under the shocked eyes of Tsugumi. "Yes, die under the force of my power! Perish!"

"Tenshi, I'm sorry… Don't get too excited yet, you psycho!" Tsugumi woke Leona up from her moment of superiority. "I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, tap one of your Murmurs and put Chandelier, Light Weapon and Merriane, Apostle of the Alps in the battle zone! Now go, Saint Ave Maria, destroy Murmur!"

Puff! The card bounced off Leona's battle zone and landed in her graveyard. But the girl didn't care, because with Queen Alcadeias gone she could cast the spell she was eager to use at last. Now that it was her turn once again, Leona tapped six mana cards and showed the light spell to Tsugumi saying:

"I cast Heaven's Gate! With its effect I put Codename Orewaleo and Codename Oraora Leone into the battle zone!"

A golden armored angel with green crystals floating around him appeared in the battle zone along with a winged golden robotic lion with lasers on its shoulders.

"Hehehe, Codename Orewaleo negates all of the effects that prevent my blockers from attacking, except for summoning sickness. Next turn you are finished, chosen light duelist!" Leona announced.

"I wouldn't bet my money on that!" Tsugumi replied with a confident smile. "Psychic Link! Saint Ave Maria, Chandelier and Merriane unite and become Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie!"

The three creatures united and got surrounded by a bright shining light. When the light faded, Leona saw that a huge winged golden dragon with long blonde hair and that was wielding an electric blue sword was behind Tsugumi by her side.

"It has 19500." Leona remarked after looking at Tsugumi's card. "So much power…"

"Indeed, and this is where I show you how to use power, Leona!" Tsugumi replied. "I cast Hyperspatial Dravita Hole and return Aquan Jr's Delivery to my hand. Then I put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone and make your Murmur unable to block! Afterwards I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top cards of Tsugumi's deck were Miraculous Snare, Hide and Seek and Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light, all cards going to her hand.

"Now go, Saint Chan-Merrie, break her final shield!" Tsugumi ordered and the dragon swung her sword and attacked Leona.

"Block the attack, Yosakoi!" Leona ordered and the small golden lion jumped in front of the attack, taking the full force of the sword and blowing up in the process.

"Then I untap Saint Chan-Merrie and gain one more shield! I end!" Tsugumi announced.

"I summon Codename Build Leone!" Leona said and then a robotic lion with white weaponry all over its body appeared and joined her arsenal of giant blockers. "Argh, why can't my blockers match up to the power of your Hunter?"

"Probably it's because when you work alone and think you are above others, you lose the power of a unified team and fall into the deception of your fake power!" Tsugumi stated.

"No, no, this is not true! And to prove it, I'll personally crush you!" Leona growled.

"We'll see about that, Leona! I cast Miraculous Snare and send Codename Build Leone to your shields! Then I also cast Hide and Seek and send Codename Oraora Leone to your hand!"

A blue water hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the winged armed golden lion making it disappear. Then a purple hand made of clouds appeared and pulled a card from Leona's hand, making her discard it. The card was Lord Reis, Spirit of Wisdom.

"Saint Chan-Merrie, break her final shields!" Tsugumi ordered and the golden dragon attacked Leona once again.

"Block the attack, Murmur!" Leona ordered and the dark red creature that resembled the shell of a snail stood in the path of the giant Hunter and got slashed by its sword.

"I untap Saint Chan-Merrie and gain another shield!" Tsugumi ended her turn.

"I summon Codename Oraora Leone!" Leona said and the winged golden lion reappeared next to Codename Orewaleo. "I end my turn."

"I summon Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Hyperspatial Shiny Hole to my hand! I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, tap Codename Orewaleo and put Chakra, Temporal Thunder Dragon in the battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then a blue mechanical dragon appeared by her side. Go, Saint Chan-Merrie, break her final shields!"

"Block the attack Codename Oraora Leone!" Leona sacrificed yet another one of her mighty creatures to the wrath of Saint Chan-Merrie.

"Victorious Pudding Pudding, break her shield!" Tsugumi ordered and the purple haired alien princess dressed in a dark green dress jumped at one of Leona's shields and hit it with her fist, breaking it. "Then I untap Saint Chan-Merrie and Victorious Pudding Pudding, gaining two more shields!"

Now Tsugumi had ten shields and a field filled with creatures while Leona had only one shield and one creature left. The situation was getting more and more desperate for the Lioness.

"How could this be? It's impossible; you can't be stronger than me!" Leona shook her head in disbelief.

"Face it, this time I had the upper hand." Tsugumi broke it to her.

"No, no, NO!" Leona couldn't help but shout. "I refuse to give up to someone like you! No, NEVER!"

Leona's hand glowed with a bright white light as she drew her next card. In the next moment she envisioned her brother destroying the city of her origin and remembered the sudden bloodlust that stirred into her when she saw him murdering innocents. Suddenly Leona spoke to her opponent:

"All sinners go to hell… and I have to help them go!"

In the next moment a huge lion-headed white warrior with four arms, that was wielding a long golden sword in the lower right arm appeared behind Leona and shined with its bright light. The girl then continued:

"I summon Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore"!"

By its effect Leona gained one shield and Tsugumi had to choose one of her shields and break it. Also, Lionel was making her shields shield triggers. Knowing that Leona had Codename Build Leone in her shields due to Miraculous Snare, Tsugumi chose the shield that she had recently gotten. The card in that shield was Codename Oreore Lionel which materialized in the battle zone as a red armored angel wielding two rainbow colored swords.

"Nice defense you got there, Leona, but I'm afraid that I'm about to break it!" Tsugumi declared. "Holy Field, since you don't have more shields than me, I now awaken Chakra! Arise, Great Chakra, the Storm Awakened!"

The blue mechanical dragon got surrounded by a yellow aura and grew in size. When the aura disappeared, the dragon now had two pairs of wings, five pairs of hands, and four golden orbs floating around it.

"Great Chakra negates all the effects that prevent my blockers from attacking you!" Tsugumi explained.

"Oh no, just like Codename Orewaleo…" Leona replied with shock.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore" back to your hand!" Tsugumi continued and a blue surfer appeared in the battlefield and hit the mighty Zenith with its surfboard, making it disappear. "Go, Great Chakra, break her final shield!"

"Block it, Codename Orewaleo!" Leona ordered and watched how her blocker got destroyed.

"Saint Chan-Merrie, break her final shield!" Tsugumi ordered.

"Block, Codename Oreore Lionel!" Leona ordered back and her final blocker got destroyed as well much to her despair.

"Chief De Baula, break her final shield!" Tsugumi ordered and the white Machine King attacked Leona and used its golden boulder to break her last shield.

That was it, Leona had lost. The girl fell on her knees and stared at the sand waiting for the finishing blow that would knock her off. Tsugumi put her hand on the Victorious Pudding Pudding card and was about to tap it to give the final attack, but then she heard Leona's weeping:

"Why? Why did I fail? I had the power, my brother had the power, and they also had the power! But I destroyed them just like they destroyed him; I destroyed every little mortal that dared to stand in my way! And now I was out powered… WHY?!"

"Excuse me, but who are 'they'?" Tsugumi asked with curiosity.

"What do you care? You know nothing about me!" Leona dismissively said.

"Well Blane did tell me that you have a dead brother. Do those to whom you refer as 'they' have something to do with his death?" Tsugumi speculated.

"Those so called 'heroes' could have proven my brother wrong! But no, they had the power, and they used it the same way my brother used it, for destruction!" Leona confessed and clenched the sand in her fists. "But why can't I do the same?!"

"I see…" Tsugumi replied and then she began to pack her cards, the chosen duelist's creatures disappearing one by one.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Leona exclaimed and got up. "I was weak and I deserve the final blow! You are stronger than me; you have the power, so use it!"

"Yes, you are right, Leona, I am stronger than you." Tsugumi said and looked at her in the eye. "But what made me stronger is not the fact that I have the power, but the fact that I had the will to control it."

"Control?"

"Yes. I could have destroyed you, but I chose not to. What about you, Leona? When was the last time you chose not to destroy those opposing you? When was the last time you spared someone's life?"

Leona was stunned. Tsugumi was right. All she did ever since her brother died was to kill off people like she was a murder machine. It was the first time in two years when she realized that she wasn't being superior to others but instead she was being controlled by her own bloodlust. In that moment she also realized that Blane was right when he tried to help her change and he really wanted the best for her. And what did she do? She betrayed him and partially because of her he got his eyes burned. All the guilt that she should have felt since her very first murder reappeared and landed hard on her like a giant boulder on her back. Trembling and with tears falling from her blue eyes Leona fell once again on the sand as she envisioned her brother.

"Vorugu, I'm sorry, this is not the path we should have chosen and I was too weak to stop you and me from following it…" Leona whispered.

Wiping the sand off her dress, Tsugumi walked to Subaru who smiled at her for her victory. Raiden stretched his hands and got up from his position saying:

"Alright, I'm bored of this shit! Subaru, it's your turn to face me!"

Subaru's only response was him taking out his deck to accept the challenge.


	45. The Match of Destruction

Kaizer's UFO kept flying above the Indian Ocean looking for the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta. Even though the map showed that it was somewhere close to the Maldives, they had found no sign of it. And to make it worse the storm was getting stronger by each minute that passed. Inside the spaceship, Alwyn was cooking lunch and dinner so that he wouldn't be bored while Alien was doing the hard job of scanning the ocean as Kaizer sat behind him with his arms crossed.

"Well Alien, any results?" Kaizer impatiently asked.

"I'm afraid not, Kaizer-sama, there are no signs of temple buildings or energies of powerful cards. I am afraid that the temple might just not be here. I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience, sir!" Alien apologized.

"That cannot be!" Kaizer replied and looked once again at the map. "Every map piece was in the exact point the previous one indicated, just like a puzzle. How come the temple isn't also in the exact point as well? This is truly a mystery…"

"Whatever happens, I will continue our search until we find it or until you order me to stop, master!" Alien declared and turned back to the computer.

All of a sudden a little alarm was set from the computer as a purple dot appeared near the Maldives on the computer's map.

"Kaizer-sama, I think we might have finally found it!" Alien announced his master.

"Good! Set coordinates to the temple and let us go there immediately!" Kaizer ordered and then he thought. "I finally got you, Devil Diabolos Zeta."

Returning to the heat of Saudi Arabia's desert, we find the two chosen duelists, Blane and two minions of Raiden lying at the oasis where the final map piece once was. Tsugumi was taking of the wounded Blane, Leona was lying on the sand staring into nothingness and Subaru and Raiden were sitting by the two tables with their decks ready for battle.

"Alright, Raiden, it's time to show you who the real darkness player is!" Subaru declared.

"Don't play games with me, chosen duelist! You have two options: either destroy me or be destroyed!" Raiden replied.

"Ah, give me a break, what's the point in that? We have to destroy Kaizer before he gets to Devil Diabolos Zeta, because if that happens then we're all toast!"

"I exist only to obey Kaizer-sama."

"So what?"

"You may not comprehend this, but I don't question my leader. My duty is to protect him, and that means that I have to eliminate every threat that may come in his way. And you are a threat!" Raiden declared and then he deployed his shields.

"I would've thought you were bright enough to think for yourself, but I guess I was wrong." Subaru replied and then he also deployed his shields.

Thus the match between Subaru and Raiden began. After they both charged mana in their first turns, Raiden's second turn came. He drew a card, placed it into the mana zone and then he tapped both mana cards and showed a card from his hand while saying:

"I cast Faerie Life!"

The top card of Raiden's deck which was Falconer, Lightfang Ninja bounced off the deck and joined Death Six, Ruthless Prince and Zenith Plan in the mana zone.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and the black haired Duel Hero dressed in a dark blue suit with a red tie and a black cape that had a piece of paper on it appeared next to him holding his trademark lollipop in his left hand.

"Oh, you're facing Raiden again, Subaru? How fabulous! I guess you'll need my help." Atsuto affirmed.

"Yeah, I'll need all the help I can get to defeat this powerhouse."

Atsuto drew two cards for Subaru which he put in his hand. Then he selected Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger and discarded both.

"I summon Bronze Arm Tribe! With its effect I gain another mana. Then I also summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her to gain yet another mana!" Raiden said and first a green horse like warrior wielding a giant fork appeared and was followed by a green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress, the latter blowing up.

"Nice mana increase, Raiden, but I'm afraid that your hand is getting smaller, which I don't think it's a good thing!" Subaru commented. "Anyway, I cast Emergency Typhoon, draw two cards and discard Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

"Fabulous move! You're preparing more terrain for your main combo!" Atsuto remarked.

"Oh don't you worry about my hand one tiny bit, Subaru, because that can be fixed! I summon Bell Hell De Dios, Death Castle Beast Lord!"

A demonic lion with a large blue mane and yellow horns appeared behind Raiden and roared loudly at Subaru. The chosen duelist covered his nose and spoke to his opponent:

"Gee, did that thing eat garlic or what? Give it a breath mint or something!"

"Alright, wise guy, it's your turn." Raiden ignored him.

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon!" Subaru said and a black turtle with blue spikes on its back appeared behind him as he drew a card and discarded Hades Death Gate. "I end my turn."

"Heh, then it's my turn! I summon Princess Cub, Free Spirit and send Atsuto to your mana zone!"

A small little bear cub appeared out of nowhere and rushed at Atsuto punching him and making him get surrounded by a green aura.

"Not fabulous!" Atsuto exclaimed and disappeared, his card landing tapped in Subaru's mana zone.

"Then I also summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Raiden continued and by Jenny's effect he discarded a card from Subaru's hand which was Miracle Re Born. "Excellent, you lost your key card! Let's see you try pulling a Romanoff Reborn on me now, punk! Bell Hell De Dios, attack and I destroy it to draw two cards!"

The demonic lion roared and exploded, allowing Raiden to draw two cards.

"Hehehe, next turn you're doomed!" Raiden laughed.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Raiden? I still got my fellow chosen duelists backing me up!" Subaru responded to the mocking laughter.

"Oh yes, I seem to remember those three losers that followed you and your girlfriend around. So where are they now? Back in kinder garden?"

"Hey, you just better watch your mouth, Raiden!"

"Heh…"

"Don't you dare mock my team! I'd be nothing without them… And they will help me destroy you!"

"Save your speech, your words mean nothing to me! There are only two things I understand: winning and losing in a duel. So please, spare me the emotions!"

"You want to see my emotions?! Well you keep pushing my buttons and you'll get a front row seat, creep!"

"There you go again – all talk and no action. Now are we ever going to finish this duel or what?"

"Gee, and I thought I talked a lot."

"My purpose is to protect Kaizer-sama. You want to destroy him. That means you have to be terminated at once!"

"You don't get it, do you, Raiden?"

"Don't get what?"

"Your supposed leader doesn't care a bit about you or your comrades' loyalty."

"If you're asking why he isn't 100% loyal to those who serve under him, the answer is simple, my friend: why should he be? We're his minions!" Raiden explained.

"You're absolutely right, I'm tired of talking! And the only way to prove to you that you're a complete idiot is by this!" Subaru said and put a fire card on one of his shields. "I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress! Then I cast… Inferno Sign! With its effect I revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind him and roared at Raiden. By its effect Subaru searched his deck and put another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in his graveyard.

"Since Galaxy Falcon makes all my Hunters speed attackers, I now attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff who by its effect I put a third Zero Romanoff to my graveyard!" Subaru said and then a second knight appeared next to the first one who fired his guns at Raiden and blasted off two of his shields. "Then I attack with my second Zero Romanoff, cast Inferno Sign and revive a third Zero Romanoff who by its effect I put a Miracle Re Born in my graveyard!"

"Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 to Deepsea Typhoon!" Raiden said and then a purple demonic frog appeared out of nowhere and hit the black turtle with its huge tongue, destroying it.

"Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and the second knight fired lasers upon Raiden and took down two more of his shields. "Now my third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, attack and cast Miracle Re Born which revives Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion wielding two large blue swords and which also had two large orange horns on its forehead put in the form of a V appeared in the battle zone and immediately slashed Raiden's Bronze-Arm Tribe and Princess Cub. Afterwards the third Zero Romanoff fired his gun and blasted his last shield to pieces. However, this time the shield shards united into a black card that shined with a purple light.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Liger Blade!" Raiden said and two black demonic hands grabbed the lion and crushed him.

"Thanks for the help, Raion." Subaru whispered and then he spoke to his opponent. "You're blindly loyal to someone as untrustworthy as Kaizer, it just doesn't make any sense!"

"Now what you're babbling about?"

"Man, you still don't get it, do you? Your mighty leader is going to destroy everyone before your very eyes!"

"How many times do I have to explain this to you? I exist to serve Kaizer-sama, it just can't be any simpler!"

"Nothing is always that simple, Raiden! Once he gets his hands on Devil Diabolos Zeta, he will destroy the whole world and you might also be on his victim list!"

"Excuse me, your point is?"

"Is any part of this starting to sink in even just a little?!"

"Not a word."

"And here I actually thought you might have a shred of intelligence, but no! You're as dumb as a mule and somewhere along the line you even abandoned your sense of honor as a duelist! So I guess I should probably stop trying to explain this to you because you're simply too stupid to understand!" Subaru exclaimed and pointed at his opponent.

"Nobody calls me stupid and gets away with it!" Raiden declared and then he tapped seven mana cards. "I summon Olzekia, General of Decapitation and destroy him!"

"I destroy two of my Zero Romanoffs!"

A black demon appeared in the battle zone and used its swords to slash into pieces two of Subaru's knights; afterwards it used the same swords to destroy itself. Raiden then growled with anger. That was all he could do and Subaru still had a Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in the battle zone which could attack him the next turn. That was it, he had lost.

"Call me crazy, but I thought that since we are both darkness duelists you might understand what I was trying to say to you." Subaru confessed and then he put his hand on his Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card ready to tap it for the final blow.

All of a sudden the cards from Shubham's deck that Raiden still kept in his pocket shined and in the next moment a bunch of Aliens belonging to the Darkness civilization appeared by their master's side. Those were Zabi Claw, Dark Warrior, Zabi Fly, the Pillager, Zabi Barrel, Western Doll, Zabi Demona, Dead Sea Treasure, Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel, Zabi Jekyll, Temporal Gunman, Zabi Trash Train, Fuuma Devil, Zabi Olzekia, Demonic Sword General, Zabi Hydra, Evil Planet Lord, Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. All Aliens pointed their weapons at Subaru and growled in anger, all taking defensive positions so that the chosen darkness duelist's Hunter wouldn't harm the person who was once their master. Subaru stared at the creatures with amazement and then he spoke:

"Talk about being loyal… That's it, there's no way I am going to fight anyone with that kind of allegiance, especially after everything I have just said!"

"Lose your nerve, Subaru!" Raiden replied with disgust.

"Here's a thought, Raiden, you might want to look at your own creatures to find out what loyalty means!"

Raiden then turned at the Aliens and saw that the smaller ones such as Zabi Claw, Zabi Fly and Zabi Barrel rushed at him and were checking his body to see if there were wounds. The minion of Kaizer was greatly impressed by the concern that those creatures showed him.

"Just like you call Kaizer your leader these little guys look up to you in the same way." Subaru explained while packing up his cards. "But what makes you different from Kaizer… is that you respect your minions."

With those words being said, Subaru packed his deck and walked off from the dueling table, heading to Tsugumi and Blane.

"Wait; come back here, Subaru Geki! Don't disrespect me by leaving me without a final blow!" Raiden demanded but got no more response. "Grr, how dare he humiliate me?"

All of a sudden, Raiden began to feel dizzy. The R from his forehead lost its power and slowly began to fade away.

"What's happening with me?" Raiden asked and looked at his whole bad which was trembling. "What's going on? Why am I in this state?"

In the next moment Raiden fell on his back in the sand as the R mark disappeared. Then the card of Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" came out of his pocket and floated above him as the image of the mighty blue and green demon came out of his body and entered once again the card which afterwards fell and landed on the sand. The Aliens then disappeared.

Meanwhile Subaru and Tsugumi managed to carry Blane into the UFO. The blonde girl took him to the hospital room while Subaru turned back and looked at the unconscious black haired teenager that was lying on the sand.

"At last you are finally free, Shubham." Subaru silently spoke and then he closed the UFO's door.

In a matter of minutes the chosen duelist UFO took off. Right after that a sandstorm came and the unconscious boy in red jacket was caught by it.

Meanwhile Kaizer's UFO was flying above the Indian Ocean, approaching the Maldives once again. But this time the clouds seemed to depart from a certain area and let the sun rays fall upon the water. Seeing this, Alien made the UFO approach that spot that was not affected by rain.

"According to the map, we are very close to the temple." Kaizer said.

"Let's party to celebrate, la!" Alwyn suggested.

In that moment a large portal the size of a house opened in front of the UFO.

"Amazing, Kaizer-sama!" Alien exclaimed in awe.

"That must be it! The portal will certainly take us to the temple!" Kaizer hypothesized and then he turned to his minion. "Forward into the portal! Next destination: the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta!"

Obeying his mater's order, Alien made the spaceship enter the portal and thus it disappeared out of sight.


	46. The team is reunited!

The sun was setting at the town of the chosen duelists as the trio formed of Tamma, Luna and Tiger were all heading to their homes with their school bags on their backs. Their attitudes were apparent coming from their own body language. Tamma had his head leaned in front while walking slowly, revealing his apathy and spleen towards school. Luna was walking with her head up, smiling all the time and humming a small melody, revealing her happiness and joy of another day of learning. As for Tiger, he walked with his hands in his pockets, a neutral face and closed eyes, showing that he didn't care much about what happened.

"Say boys, do you want to come by my place and have a cup of hot chocolate?" Luna cheerfully suggested.

"At how tired I am, I'd rather take a cup of holidays!" Tamma moaned.

"Don't worry, we'll come." Tiger assured the girl.

"Great!" Luna exclaimed and took out her cell phone. "I'll tell mom to prepare three cups and…"

Before the girl could finish her sentence, a huge shadow fell upon them. The three duelists looked up and saw the UFO of their friends flying above them.

"They already came back?" Luna asked.

"Alright, it's time to kick some butt!" Tamma suddenly burst with excitement.

"I wonder what's going on with them. If it were nothing wrong, they wouldn't have come with the UFO above us." Tiger thought.

A beam fell down from the spaceship which teleported the trio into it. There they were face to face with Subaru and Tsugumi who had worried looks on their face.

"Nice to see you guys again!" Luna cheered and hugged Tsugumi.

"Did you come to take us on a mission? Huh? Huh?" Tamma excitedly asked.

"I'm afraid yes." Tsugumi sighed.

"What happened?" Tiger asked.

"Shall I start with the bad news or good news?" Subaru responded with a question.

"Bad." Tiger shortly replied.

"Kaizer has completed the map and is on his way to Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple." Subaru pessimistically said.

"WHAT?!" the three just arrived chosen duelists shouted.

"I just knew it, Kaizer did survive!" Tiger exclaimed.

"I don't believe it; nothing can survive a blast from Gaial Ore Dragon!" Luna added.

"At least we'll escape school." Tamma thought.

"And where in this situation can be any good news?!" Tiger spoke frustrated.

"Nolan has just intercepted Kaizer's UFO and we're following his marks. It seems that his vehicle is somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Don't worry; we'll catch up with him soon!" Subaru assured him.

"Let's just hope we're not too late…" Tiger said.

And so the UFO took off and headed for the Indian Ocean. During those long hours of travel, Tamma, Luna and Tiger were informed with the situation aboard. Blane was lying in therapy but he would recover soon from what Tsugumi told them. Robert, Nolan and Hanna had returned just in time to aid them once again, even though the first two were still on their search for Tigra. Also they found out about the defeat of Leona and Raiden at the desert. Now that they were up to date, they were all ready for a mission.

At the control room, Nolan set the UFO on auto pilot now that its coordinates were set as well and then he increased its speed just so he would be sure they would arrive to their destination faster. Afterwards he joined the rest of the gang in their chatter.

"So guys, do you have any plan cooking for when we get to the temple?" Nolan asked.

"We're working on it right now." Subaru answered.

"I suggest that if we are somehow lucky and find Kaizer outside of the temple, we set him a trap." Tiger spoke his mind.

"A trap? What kind of trap?" Tsugumi asked.

"We surround the temple so that he won't have any place to run. Then Subaru and me will come to Kaizer and block him from entering the UFO. From what you guys said, it's just Kaizer, that weakling Alien and dumbass Alwyn, which means that besides the master the rest won't cause is trouble. If we manage to stall for time by dueling, one of us could get inside the temple and take Devil Diabolos Zeta out of there so that it will never get into Kaizer's hands." Tiger explained.

"Good plan, me likey!" Subaru intervened. "But for that to work, we will all have to be at the top of our game!"

"I agree! But what can we do? We haven't had serious duels for a month." Luna complained.

"That can be solved!" Robert said with a sly smile on his face. "How about Tamma, Luna and Tiger face me, Nolan and Hanna? This way we can oil our engines and be more prepared for the battle like Subaru wants to."

"Heh, I actually like that idea!" Tiger replied and took out his deck. "Alright, let's go and have some duels!"

And so they all headed out of the control room and went to the training room. There everyone except for Subaru and Tsugumi formed pairs of two for the duels. It was Tamma VS Nolan, Tiger VS Robert and Luna VS Hanna.

"Alright, time to heat things up a little; I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and put the multicolored card on the table.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Nolan said.

"Boring! I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre! Go, Vorg, break his shield!"

Nolan took the card to his hand and sighed with disappointment when he saw that it wasn't a shield trigger. When it came to Tamma's deck, the young chosen fire duelist was very rushy and if the opponent's deck couldn't keep up with him then he or she would certainly lose the duel. Luckily, Nolan could manage to somehow pull a small comeback as he finally managed to summon a creature as well.

"I summon Cheering Pippi and end!" Nolan said.

"Let's get this party started!" Tamma excitedly said and then he put a card on his Vorg card. "Evolution, Vorg, Brawler of Hell, become Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!"

The card shined with great power and then behind Tamma the hologram of a giant humanoid dressed in a thick red armor who was wielding black cannons and had an X on its chest.

"Go, Ogre Beater, double break his shields! Straight, break his shield!" Tamma ordered and two waves came out from his cards that pushed three cards from Nolan's shield zone and sent them to his hand.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!" Nolan responded and then he put the top card of his deck to his shields. "And now it's my turn, I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

A red dragon dressed in samurai gear and wielding two swords that resembled crosses appeared behind Nolan as a hologram.

"Genji Double Cross, suicide with Ogre Beater!" Nolan ordered and both creatures fought until Genji's swords cut through Ogre Beater's armor and Ogre Beater's cannons blasted Genji off. "Then Cheering Pippi, break his shield!"

Tamma took the card to his hand and then he gave his opponent a confident smile. The card suddenly got surrounded by a red aura as Tamma placed it on the only creature he had left and said:

"Evolution, Straight, Fighting Ogre, become Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion"!"

A giant red armored humanoid wielding a white sword combined with a chainsaw in its right hand appeared behind Tamma as a hologram and made Nolan back down in fear.

"Kasai, are you ready to do this?" Tamma asked the creature.

"Always ready for you, master!" the creature replied with eagerness.

"Alright, then break his final shields!" Tamma exclaimed and pointed at Nolan.

Golden Age aimed his sword at Nolan and with just a swing he made his last shields bounce off the table and land in his hand. Sadly for him, there were no shield triggers.

"I'm not down yet!" Nolan declared. "I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga! Now go, Cheering Pippi, break his shield!"

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Cheering Pippi!" Tamma stroke back and his spell card shined as Nolan's creature got bounced off the battle zone and landed in the graveyard.

"Still, you won't be able to finish me this turn and HEIKE Double Cross is a blocker that cannot be chosen by you!" Nolan spoke confidently.

"No worries, that's why I have this!" Tamma replied and put another rainbow creature in the battle zone. "I summon Dolmarks, the Shadow Warrior! With its effect we will both have to choose a creature of ours and destroy it and also a mana card of ours to send to the graveyard! I destroy Dolmarks and send Laurier, Ogre Princess to the graveyard."

"I destroy… HEIKE Double Cross, and send Endra Pappi to my graveyard." Nolan barely spoke due to his disappointment.

"Kasai, let's finish this, todomeda!" Tamma ordered and Nolan was hit by a wave of energy and thrown against the wall with his deck. "Alright, Tamma's back in the game!"

"Bravo, Tamma!" Tsugumi clapped.

"I'm proud of you!" Subaru added much to the red haired boy's joy.

With the match being done, Tiger and Robert ceased watching and began their own duel.

"I summon Yattare Pippi!" Tiger said and put the multicolored card on the table.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie! I destroy Jasmine and put the top card of my deck to my mana zone!" Robert said.

"Since Yattare Pippi reduces the cost of my Hunters by 1, I now summon Iron Arm Tribe and get yet another mana! Now go, Yattare Pippi, break his shield!"

Robert took the shield to his hand and then he charged mana and showed a darkness card while saying:

"I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll! Now show me your hand!"

Tiger showed the two cards in his hand which were Mykee's Pliers and Hyperspatial Faerie Hole. Robert chose to discard Faerie Hole much to his dismay and then he ended his turn.

"Tsh, I charge mana and summon Silver Shovel! With its effect I send Silver Shovel and Jenny to our mana zones!" Tiger said and both players put their respective creatures into their mana zone. "Now go, Yattare Pippi, break another shield!"

"Ninja strike 4, I summon Dark Sanji, Darkfang Ninja!" Robert said and showed a darkness card from his hand. "With its effect I give -2000 to your Yattare Pippi!"

"Tsh…" Tiger murmured as the card fell into his graveyard. "Iron Arm Tribe, break his shield!"

"My turn, I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle!" Robert said and put a Nature Fortress on one of his shields. "Now I am assured that this is the last shield that you'll break. Also, whenever I put a creature into the battle zone, I may draw a card!"

"Hah, as if that will help you!" Tiger laughed. "My turn, I evolve Iron Arm Tribe into Great Hercules, Giant Insect! Go, Great Hercules, double break his shields!"

Robert calmly took the two cards to his hand and smiled to his opponent. It was clear for Tiger that now Robert was going to gain control in the battle zone.

"I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and draw a card thanks to Hustle Castle. Then I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe, gain one more mana and draw another card!"

Now it was Tiger's turn once again. He drew his next card which was Raging Apache Lizard. Sadly for him it cost 7 mana but he had only 6. However he quickly remembered Great Hercules' effect and placed the card into his mana zone. Afterwards he tapped his creature and said:

"I attack with Great Hercules and by its effect I put Raging Apache Lizard from my mana zone into the battle zone! With the effect of Raging Apache Lizard I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone! Now go, Great Hercules, break his final shield!"

"Heh, Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and turn him into a blocker. Falconer, block Great Hercules!" Robert ordered and thus he stopped the mighty creature from taking down his last shield which had his Hustle Castle fortress, plus he also got to draw another card.

"Victorious Gaial Kaiser, break his last shield!" Tiger continued his attack.

"Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give Victorious Gaial Kaiser -6000!" Robert said and then he drew a card as he watched Tiger's creature return to the hyperspatial zone.

"Grr, I end." Tiger growled.

"Time to get serious. I evolve Bloody Shadow into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" Robert said and then the image of the mighty angelic queen appeared behind him. "You can kiss your spells good bye! Go, Queen Alcadeias, destroy Great Hercules!"

A beam came from Robert's card which bounced off two cards from the table and had them land into Tiger's graveyard. Now the blonde chosen duelist drew his next card which was Mykee's Pliers. He looked at it with slight disappointment, for he was hoping for something better since Queen Alcadeias was out.

"I summon Mykee's Pliers which makes all of my Nature creatures speed attackers!"

"Oh? A rather interesting move…" Robert noted.

"Go, Raging Apache Lizard, break his final shield!"

"Not so fast there, pal! Shield trigger, I cast Leaf Storm Trap and send my Bronze-Arm Tribe and your Mykee's Pliers to our mana zones!"

Tiger growled angrily once again and then he ended his turn. He was so close to winning the game! But a shield trigger had to stand in his way. He was once again at the mercy of Robert and his control tactics and he knew that something bad was going to happen. Now it was his opponent's turn. The spiky brown haired teenager drew a card, placed another in his mana zone, tapped four mana cards and put a card from his hand into the battle zone and saying:

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!"

Afterwards Robert tapped three more mana cards and showed a Nature spell.

"I cast Sanctuary of Mother! With its effect I send Ashliger to my mana zone and then I evolve Queen Alcadeias into Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!" Robert exclaimed and once his Ballcadeias card entered the battle zone it shined with a bright light and the image of a blue skinned goat demon with three pairs of hands, three pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white appeared behind him. "Destroy his creatures, Ballcadeias!"

"Tsh…" Tiger reacted upon seeing Raging Apache Lizard landing in his graveyard.

"And now your shield triggers are useless! This game is mine, Tiger! Ballcadeias, triple break his shields!" Robert ordered and a powerful beam came out of his card which pushed the last three shields of Tiger to his hand.

However once the attack finished, the chosen nature duelist gave his opponent a confident smile. Tiger immediately showed one of the cards to Robert, which was a Fire card. The card shined brightly and Tiger said:

"You said nothing about Ballcadeias preventing me from summoning creatures! Shield trigger activate, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!"

A white tiger with black stripes that was carrying a flaming sword in its mouth appeared behind Tiger as a hologram and stared menacingly at Robert. The tall duelist panicked. He had no more Ninja Strike creatures in his hand to protect him from a finishing blow and he also had no blockers in the battle zone. What was most frustrating to him was how lucky Tiger was with that shield trigger.

"Now let me show you the power of the jungle! Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord, todomeda!" Tiger ordered and Robert was blown off by an energy wave and he joined Nolan in the corner of the defeated.

Subaru, Tsugumi and Tamma cheered the victorious Tiger be he simply ignored them and walked out of the room while declaring:

"If any of you need me, I'll be in my room!"

"Hasn't changed one bit." Subaru remarked.

"But that's what makes him special." Tsugumi added.

And now there was only one last duel to be played, that between Luna and Hanna. After waiting and watching, the two girls could finally act.

"I heard good things about you from Tsugumi-chan." Luna said while setting Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole in her mana zone.

"Let's say that me and Tsugumi went through a lot back before you became a chosen duelist." Hanna replied while setting Necrodragon Guljeneraid in her mana zone.

"I see, so I'm taking you are very close friends." Luna continued and then she put an Aqua Surfer in her mana zone, tapped two cards and summoned Hot Spring Crimson Meow which let her draw a card.

"Yes, we were very close in those times. She helped me see the good in things and I helped her defeat my former master Tabitha Lenox." Hanna explained while charging mana with Terror Pit and summoning Drilling Squito.

"And what are you after now? Why are you helping us?" Luna asked while putting The Strong Spiral in her mana zone and casting Energy Stream which allowed her to draw two cards.

"I'm trying to find a purpose in life. And to make up for all the evil that I've made during my times with Tabitha-sama, I chose to help my friends in their fight with Kaizer." Hanna confessed while putting Necrodragon Heavy Kerberos into her mana zone and summoning Dark Lupia.

"In that case I wish you good luck, Hanna-san! And it's great to know you're on our side!"

"Thank you, Luna!"

"Anyway, back to the duel. I cast Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole and with its effect I put Boost, Crimson Lord into the battle zone! Boost's effect destroys Dark Lupia!"

"Nice move there! But it's time for a little payback! I cast Yabasgil Wrap!"

"Yabasgil Wrap?"

"Yes, by this spell's effect I choose one of your creatures and you may destroy it. If you don't, I'll put a creature from my hand into the battle zone. I choose Boost, Crimson Lord!"

"Very well, I don't want to see some giant creature, so I'll destroy Boost. Anyway, I guess I can't stop you from summoning creatures, but I can surely slow you down! I cast Hyperspatial Energy Hole, draw a card and put Victorious Meteor Kaiser into the battle zone!"

"Huh? Meteor Kaiser? You're also using the parts of Gaial Ore Dragon?!" Hanna asked with shock and Luna nodded as a response. "Well, then I'll have a big challenge, won't I?"

"Kind of." Luna responded with a small smile. "Victorious Meteor Kaiser makes you put cards in your mana zone tapped."

"Seems I won't be using this any soon." Hanna said while putting Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming into her mana zone. "However, I can still use this! I summon Necrodragon Giland!"

"I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and send Necrodragon Giland back to your hand! Then I put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows into the battle zone!" Luna said and a red robot with 3 heads, fire arms, and water throwers appeared behind her as a hologram. "My little Pinky is here ready to help me!"

"Impressive avatar you have. However, I still have some resources left – I summon Heavy, Dragon God and destroy him!"

"I destroy Hot Spring Crimson Meow."

Now Luna's turn began once again. The chosen water duelist drew another card, charged mana and then she tapped all seven cards in her mana zone and showed a Fire card to Hanna saying:

"I summon Raging Apache Lizard! With its effect I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone!"

"Fantastic!" Hanna exclaimed at the sight of Luna's creature army.

"But wait, there's more! Hot Spring Gallows' effect lets me put a recently summoned Fire or Water creature to the top of my deck and then once again into the battle zone! In other words, Raging Apache Lizard goes to the top of my deck and then it returns to the battle zone. By its effect I also put Victorious Pudding Pudding into the battle zone!"

A purple haired princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared as a hologram and made a blue metallic dragon with a red fiery horn and wielding a flame sword with its tail appear along with a red armored dragon wielding two fiery swords, both as holograms.

"Princess Pudding…" Hanna murmured in awe.

"By her effect your Drilling Squito can't block this turn. And now Victory Psychic Link!" Luna exclaimed. "I unite the three Victorious psychics and turn them into Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory!"

Pudding Pudding got surrounded by a white aura and she cast two bright beams upon Meteor Kaiser and Gaial Kaiser, uniting all three of them into one. When the light was gone, everyone saw a giant winged dragon that shined with the colors of the rainbow, though gold was the predominant one. It also wielded a sword with its tail.

"That's the creature that has defeated Kaizer…" Hanna barely spoke.

"Gaial Ore Dragon, break all of her shields!" Luna shouted and the holographic creature used its sword to slash off all of Hanna's holographic shields, the girl showing no signs of shield triggers. "Good game, Hanna-san! Pinky, let's finish this duel, todomeda!"

The robotic alien listened to its master and even though it was a hologram it fired flames and water upon Hanna that pushed her back and had her land next to Nolan and Robert. Tamma jumped happily in the air cheering for Luna's victory. Tsugumi rushed at the girl and hugged her sisterly.

"You did a great job with Gaial Ore Dragon!" Tsugumi complimented her.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Tsugumi-chan!" Luna shyly replied and blushed.

Subaru gave her a friendly look and a smile which showed his own appreciation for the girl as well. And thus another day had passed at the chosen duelist UFO. The team was reunited and stronger than ever before. Now they were ready to defeat Kaizer once and for all. But little did the chosen duelists know that Leona had managed to sneak inside the UFO and had entered the hospital room where Edo and Blane were lying unconscious.

Meanwhile Kaizer's UFO landed on the surface of an island's beach. The weather was sunny and there was no sign of storm clouds, which meant that they were not in the Indian Ocean anymore. The spaceship's main door opened and Kaizer walked out and set foot on the beach. He then looked at the island and saw a small hill upon which rested the imposing building of what seemed to be a temple.

"The temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta has finally been found. Soon my destiny will be revealed." Kaizer said.


	47. Wishes

As the chosen duelists and their friends were having their dinner in the kitchen to prepare for the imminent battle, Leona managed to sneak into the hospital room. The blonde girl walked past paralyzed Edo as if he were nothing and then she stopped by the bed of the unconscious Blane who was still recovering from the defeat that Kaizer inflicted upon him. She stared down at him with her blue eyes but this time it wasn't the stare of a predator like she used to have. It was the look of a confused person who was regretting and seemed to be repenting from their sins.

"You idiot…" she finally spoke. "You tried so hard to change me, but why couldn't you realize that what I really needed was controlling the power and not myself?"

The girl softly put her hand on his forehead and then she felt the blood circulating into his body. Her eyes widened and all of a sudden her desire to see blood spilled returned. She quickly took her hand away from him and shook her head while saying:

"No, no, I won't be taken over by you again!"

But even so, in her mind there were many ways in which she could kill Blane, either by slashing his neck off, stabbing him in vital organs, or simply asphyxiating him with a pillow. And once again the thoughts of her being superior to him simply because she had his life in her hands reappeared. Then she heard voices speaking in her head:

"Come on, do it, you know you want to!"

"Just another murder, it won't hurt!"

"This guy isn't worth your time anyway, so put him out of his misery!"

"He screwed you up even more instead of helping you, so screw him too!"

Leona put her hands on her head and fell with her knees on the cold metallic floor. Inside her there was a battle, a struggle between her murderer self and her true self that wanted to control her instincts. Who would prevail now depended on her. The girl put her hands on her head and closed her eyes, envisioning her childhood in which her dear brother took care of her. Then she also envision that one year in which Blane traveled with her and did the same thing. They weren't many, just two men. They were two men who actually cared for her despite her being the monster that she was.

"I wish that the pain ceased…" Leona murmured sorrowfully.

But then the girl heard footsteps approaching the hospital room. She quickly hid under Blane's bed so that nobody could see that she was an intruder aboard the ship. The lights of the room turned on and then Subaru and Luna walked in. The duo stopped by Edo's bed and both looked upon the immobilized brown haired boy.

"So Luna, what is your plan exactly?" Subaru asked.

"I will first scan his entire body and see what exactly his problem is. Afterwards I will try to find a cure." Luna explained and then she put her laptop on the drawer and took out a small device the size of a flashlight which she used to scan Edo's entire body. "Alright, now to work on the data."

"Luna, are you sure that this is going to help Edo-kun?"

"You never know until you try. And besides, if there is even one slight chance of recovering Edo, then I will do my best to make sure that he is healed!"

"Thank you a lot, Luna, you're truly a good friend. I am so sorry for being mean to you back then."

Both chosen duelists then remembered their first encounter at Hakuoh's school.

_Luna helped Tsugumi get up and then the blonde girl wiped the dust off her red dress. The girls shared a small happy laugh but their moment was interrupted by a rather angry Subaru that came to them looking all gloomy._

"_Subaru, is something the matter?" Tsugumi asked._

"_Tsugumi, how can you let someone like her join us?" Subaru suddenly complained._

"_What do you mean?" a shocked Luna mumbled. "I am not fit for the job?"_

"_Why should you be fit for the job? You're using the creature of our ex-arch nemesis, that devil called Hot Spring Gallows! If I remember better, Tsugumi, that Hot Spring Gallows united with two other creatures and formed the monster that slew our dear friend Rad. Would you like that kind of person to replace Edo-kun, Tsugumi?!"_

_Tsugumi was beyond shocked. Never in her life would she have expected to see Subaru act so mean towards who would become their new teammate. Was he not realizing that he was hurting a girl's feelings? As for Luna, she was beyond scared and embarrassed. The girl could not understand why Subaru cared so much about her deck that he was criticizing her in such a harsh manner. _

"_I think that is quite enough, Subaru." Hakuoh tried to calm him down and put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I know it's hard for you, but you have to accept Luna as part of your team. It's the Proof's will, not yours."_

"_If I have wronged you with something, I deeply apologize." Luna said and tried to put her hands on Subaru's forearms, however, the black haired boy slapped them._

"_KEEP YOUR FILTHY CLAWS AWAY FROM ME!" Subaru shouted._

_In the next moment, tears began to fall on Luna's red cheeks and the girl started crying. Tsugumi put her hands on the girl's shoulders and tried to comfort her._

Once the flashback ended, Subaru sighed and put his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Could you ever forgive me for being such a jerk to you?" Subaru asked.

"Don't worry; what has passed shall stay in the past. We have a whole future ahead… partner!" Luna smiled at him.

"You got it, friend!" the black haired teen gave the girl a reply that made her blush.

"Oh look, the data has been fully stored!" Luna changed the subject and rushed at the computer. "Let's see what Edo's source of problem is."

Subaru stood behind the girl and set his eyes on the computer screen as well. There he could see an image of Edo's body which revealed his skeleton and his meat and muscles. Luna kept pressing the computer's buttons and sometimes she would click on a certain body part of the ex chosen water duelist's. After a few minutes of analyzing his situation, Luna finally came with the verdict:

"Edo's spinal cord has been gravely damaged and also his occipital lobe. This means that he cannot move his body and also cannot see."

"I think the doctors said something similar. What is there to be done?" Subaru asked.

"This requires heavy surgery and even though I do not have any medical training, I do remember that my parents own some robots that have surgical activity programmed in their hardware. Once we get back home, I'll call my parents and we will try to fix your friend!" Luna explained.

"He's your friend, too. After how much you've tried to help him, I'm sure that he would greatly appreciate it."

Once again the chosen darkness duelist made the chosen water duelist blush. Luna was surprised of how much Subaru had changed. From the mean guy that was yelling at her back at Hakuoh's school to the warm and caring friend that was trying his best to console her. It was then that she realized that Tsugumi was right, Subaru was a complicated person, but once one managed to get past his shell they would end up with a loyal friend.

As the chosen duelist UFO was approaching the Maldives, Kaizer and his two minions walked out of their own vehicle and headed to the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta. With each step that he was taking by climbing the stairs of the building, Kaizer felt more and more excited. Soon his mission would be accomplished after all the hard work he had gone through. At long last that moment had come. Victory would soon be his. Alwyn and Alien on the other hand were blindly following their leader, while the human was doing it because he was bored and hoped to have more fun, the extraterrestrial was doing it because it hoped it would be useful for its master. At long last, after a minute of climbing, the longest minute in Kaizer's life, they were finally there. They were at the entrance of a magnificent looking building that had a round roof with stained glass and four pillars that held it up at the front gate. On the door the five symbols of the five civilizations were all displayed in their grandeur.

"Wow, it's so huge, la!" Alwyn exclaimed.

"What a fantastic construction!" Alien commented.

"Indeed it is; my loyal minions. And now the time has come for us to fulfill our destiny!" Kaizer declared and walked to the door.

The golden armored gladiator slowly stretched his hand to the gate and once it touched it, his whole body was shocked and he fell on his back. Alwyn and Alien panicked and rushed to their leader to help him up.

"Kaizer-sama, are you alright?!" Alien shouted but didn't get any response.

"Please speak to us, ah!" Alwyn added.

"I… I'm fine…" Kaizer growled opening his red eyes and then he got up on his feet. "But why can't I enter the temple? Why must there always be something standing in my way?!"

"Kaizer!" a strange voice came out of the temple.

"What was that?" Alwyn asked with fear.

"That must be Devil Diabolos Zeta." Kaizer hypothesized.

"You have surprised me by managing to come this far." the voice continued speaking. "But you must know that this temple was built in such a way that only a human can enter it. And since you do not belong to the world of humans, there is no way you can set foot into it yet."

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Kaizer shouted.

"Improvise and find a way to enter this building. Only then you will have access to ultimate power!" the voice explained and then it ceased talking.

Kaizer turned to his minions and took a good look at them. On one side Alien was fully loyal to him and was a capable being that could handle whatever would wait inside the temple. The down point was that the being from outer space was not a human just like him and thus could not enter. On the other hand, Alwyn happened to be a human, but he was so clumsy and clueless that Kaizer would rather send a chosen duelist inside to fetch him the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta than the Onsen duelist.

All of a sudden, something struck the armored duelist. He felt a familiar presence approaching him. It was no doubt, the chosen duelists. Kaizer sensed how their spaceship entered the portal near the Maldives and how they were on their way to him.

"The chosen duelists are coming!" Kaizer announced his minions.

"Oh no, what are we going to do, la?" Alwyn panicked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan. And very soon Devil Diabolos Zeta will be in my hands!" the golden gladiator assured them both.

It was past noon at the island when the chosen duelist UFO arrived and landed on the beach. Much to their surprise they had intercepted the ship of their enemies lying a few feet away from them but with no signs of Kaizer or the two servants of his anywhere.

"Nope, Kaizer is nowhere to be found." Nolan affirmed after looking at all the cameras.

"I say we prepare our little trap and surround the whole island immediately!" Tiger suggested.

"No, he's probably prepared his own trap and is waiting for us all to fall into it!" Tsugumi countered.

"To be sure that the coast is clear, Tsugumi and I will go outside and check to see if everything is alright." Subaru added.

Everyone agreed with the plan and in a few moments the two lovers were outside having a walk on the beach all by themselves. To make sure that they would manage to return to the ship in case of an emergency, Nolan decided to let the front door open. Now the chosen light and darkness duelists were walking towards the temple holding their hands and looked around to be sure that there was no trap waiting for them.

"You know that we're in high danger, right?" Subaru asked the blonde girl.

"Yes, I know, but why did you suggest that I came with you?" Tsugumi asked back.

"Because I knew you would ask to come with me."

"Haha, sometimes you read me like a book!"

"Why shouldn't I? After all, you would be the best book I could ever read."

"Oh stop it, you're making me blush!"

"Isn't that something I'm an expert at, Tsugumi?"

"Well, Subaru, you're kind of right… Still, we're on a mission, so no time for lovey dovey games!"

"You're right. We cannot let ourselves distracted, not with Kaizer on the loose."

"Say, Subaru, is that the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta?" Tsugumi asked while pointing to the hill which had a majestic construction on its top.

"If it is, then we know where Kaizer is going!" Subaru replied and then he began to run and pull her with him. "Hurry, before it's too late!"

"Shouldn't we announce the others?" the blonde girl suggested.

"No time, we've got to stop Kaizer before he gets his hands on that card!" the black haired boy rejected the idea.

But just as they were about to reach the hill and climb the stairs, Alwyn and Alien jumped out of the bushes next to it and blocked their path.

"Sorry, la, but you shall not intervene with Kaizer-sama's business!" Alwyn declared.

"And to make sure of this, we shall both face you in a duel!" Alien added.

"Oh great, we don't have time for those clowns!" Subaru complained.

"You take the alien, I'll take the squirt." Tsugumi instructed her lover.

Four dueling tables rose from the ground and the players put their decks on them and raised their shields, thus beginning their matches. It was Tsugumi VS Alwyn and Subaru VS Alien.

Meanwhile at the chosen duelist UFO the others were waiting for news from the couple. Tamma was sitting at a table playing a video game on a laptop, Luna was working more on Edo's diagnosis to identify the exact injuries that he had upon his body, and Tiger was discussing with Nolan, Robert and Hanna his plan of trapping Kaizer. During that time, Leona managed to sneak out of the hospital room and she tried to find an exit out of the ship for she wanted to see the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta for herself. But just then she heard some metallic footsteps in the UFO. Knowing who that was, she immediately ran into a room and hid. The chosen duelists and their friends looked with shock at the front door and saw that it was Kaizer himself.

"Oh no, it's Kaizer!" Luna exclaimed.

"How did he get in here?" Tamma asked.

"That doesn't matter now; let's get ready for battle!" Tiger ordered.

"Please, I have not come here to waste time." Kaizer declared and stomped the floor.

With just a single stomp from his golden foot, he managed to send a darkness wave on the floor which hit the chosen duelists and their three friends, knocking them all unconscious. They being out of the way, Kaizer proceeded on his way to the hospital room, unaware that from a certain room Leona was watching all of his actions.

"What could he possibly want from this place?" Leona asked herself.

Back at the two duels from outside, the situation was pretty good for the chosen duelists. Tsugumi had no shields but Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon, Chandelier, Light Weapon and Merriane, Apostle of the Alps untapped in her battle zone while Alwyn had Immediate Effect! Hot Springs and Gaial Kaiser tapped in his battle zone and four shields left.

"And now it's my turn, Psychic Link! I unite Saint Ave Maria, Chandelier and Merriane and they will form Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie!" Tsugumi declared.

The three creatures united and got surrounded by a bright shining light. When the light faded, Alwyn saw that a huge winged golden dragon with long blonde hair and that was wielding an electric blue sword was behind Tsugumi by her side.

"I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper and evolve it into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" Tsugumi announced and then a female golden angel dressed in a red cape appeared behind her. "Go, Saint Chan-Merrie, break his shields!"

The dragon swung her sword and used it to slash off Alwyn's last four shields. Much to his dismay, the cards in his hand were Hot Spring Brain, Apace Hyahho, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and Qurian. With no creature shield trigger to save him, Aqua Surfer more specifically, he was toast.

"Let's get him, Tenshi!" Tsugumi said.

"As you wish, just give me the order!" Queen Alcadeias replied.

"Todomeda!" the blonde girl shouted.

"This is going to feel bad in the morning, la!" Alwyn said sweating.

Queen Alcadeias created a yellow laser ball in her hands which she cast upon the poor hot spring duelist and blew him away, thus making Tsugumi the victor. As for the other march, Subaru had Volg Thunder, Thunder Tiger and Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in the battle zone and three shields left while Alien had Gaga Crouton, the Prophet, Gaga Pikarian, Deis Bulldozer, Alien Father (Just 1 Song?), Alien Mother (Gladly) and Gaga Sirius, the Temporal and four shields left, all of their creatures being untapped.

"Psychic Link, I unite Volg Thunder and Thunder Tiger to form Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Subaru said and the two creatures united and turned into a giant inged demonic tiger with two heads that was wielding a large purple sword. "And now it's my turn, I summon Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon! Then I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion that had two orange horns in the shape of a V on his forehead appeared in the battle zone and used his sharp blue swords to destroy all of Alien's creatures.

"Thanks for the help, Raion!" Subaru said and gave a thumb up to his creature.

"Anytime, master!" Liger Blade winked back.

"Go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and the knight aimed its yellow gun at Alien's shields and blasted two of them. "Then I attack with Volg Tiger and discard a card from your hand!"

Volg Tiger roared and made Alien discard Gaga Petrova, Light Weapon. By the Darkness creature's effect, Subaru could revive a creature that cost less than the discarded one and he chose to revive Super Go On Pippi.

"Volg Tiger, break his final shields!" Subaru ordered and the might Hunter of Darkness swung its purple sword and used it to slash Alien's last two shields. "And since Super Go On Pippi makes all of my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I finish you off with Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, todomeda!"

The red samurai dragon raised his sword in the air and in the next moment Alien was thrown away defeated and joined Alwyn in unconsciousness.

"Alright, those two are down, now let's go to the temple and see what Kaizer is up to!" Subaru said.

"Wait!" Tsugumi grabbed his hand before he could rush on the stairs. "There's something strange happening at the UFO!"

The black haired teen turned his head and saw that small waves of darkness were coming from their spaceship. Realizing that something was wrong, both chosen duelists ran back at the UFO and found their friends lying unconscious. Before Tsugumi could even go and see what was wrong with them, the darkness waves hit her as well and made her faint. Subaru panicked even more. He was the only one left awake and he knew that Kaizer was also aboard. But where could the armored duelist have been hiding? The chosen darkness duelist began to search each room to find nothing until he reached the hospital room and there he had the biggest shock in his life.

Sitting on his feet alive and well was none other than his old friend Edo! He, the former chosen water duelist, the brown haired dumb male that was too clueless for the world, the one with whom he shared both laughter and cry, his best friend, had finally recovered.

"Edo-kun, is that really you?" Subaru could barely speak.

Edo was standing there with his eyes closed and dressed in his blue pajamas but he responded with a nod. Letting the tears come out of his eyes, Subaru ran inside and hugged his friend tightly while crying:

"Edo-kun, you're back! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, darling!" a demonic voice came out of Edo's mouth.

Before Subaru could react, Edo punched him so hard in the stomach that he spat blood and fell on the floor weakened. When the chosen darkness duelist looked up, he saw that Edo had red eyes and that Kaizer's armor was lying on his bed.

"You were too easy." Kaizer mercilessly spoke through Edo's body.

In the next moment he grabbed his gladiator armor, put it on Edo's back and walked out of the room. Subaru slowly crawled to the opened door and stretched his hand in the air with desperation while mumbling:

"Wait, Kaizer, come back… Edo-kun…"

Then his sight began to blur and everything went blank, the chosen darkness duelist losing consciousness as well.


	48. Subaru and Kaizer

Subaru flew through a tunnel of darkness not knowing where he was heading to. All that he knew is that he had to find a way out. Strangely enough, he didn't feel anything that the five human senses could make him sense. There was no tactile feeling, no smell, no sound, no taste and he couldn't see anything due to the darkness. It was almost as if he didn't exist anymore. But if he were dead, then why could he still comprehend what was going on around him? Nothing made any sense to him. Then all of a sudden he remembered his best friend Edo whom he hugged and the shock he had when he found out that his arch enemy Kaizer had possessed his body. Then he also remembered getting a hard punch in the stomach which knocked him off. In that next moment a small light appeared at the end of the tunnel of darkness. Subaru reached to it with his right hand and flew towards it. Once he touched it, he was surrounded by it for a few moments. When the light faded away, he found himself surrounded by flames in a red cave.

"Where am I? What is this place?" the chosen darkness duelist asked.

"Welcome to hell!" a familiar voice said.

Subaru turned around and was surprised to see a tall shaved man with short black hair that was turning grey, dressed in a grey uniform sitting on a red stone looking down upon him.

"It's you! It's actually you… Mutsuhito Geki!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Well, well, I'm glad that you still remember me, son!" Mutsuhito replied and jumped off the stone, landing in front of Subaru. "It's been a while, eh?"

"What happened? How did I get here?"

"Why so rushed? Aren't you happy to see your father again, Subaru?"

"Yeah, happy like I would be when finding out I got cancer…"

"What happened to you? This isn't the Subaru I know… This isn't the Subaru that defeated me and successfully managed to overthrow me and go against my wishes by being together with the girl of the Shirayamas. This isn't the heroic honorable Subaru."

"That Subaru is forever gone as far as you're concerned! What's left is a shadow of his former self that has to look every day upon the mistakes of his past and suffer the consequences!"

In the next moment Mutsuhito punched Subaru and made him fall near the flames. The angered man approached him, pulled him up by his shirt and then he yelled in his face:

"You've defied me so many times, you've defeated me, hell, you've even defeated Tabitha Lenox, and this is all you have to show for it?! How dare you give up your job so soon over a few mistakes of the past?!"

"You're not the boss of me. I do what I want." Subaru sourly replied and turned his face away from his father.

"Foolish boy, can't you see that you're giving up way too soon for your own good?!" Mutsuhito kept shouting and shook his son. "Even I, when I was aspiring to become the greatest leader of our world, never gave up and kept letting ambition guide me! What has happened to your ambition, Subaru? Has it gone off the window so easily?"

Angered, Subaru pushed Mutsuhito away and walked back a few steps while staring sorrowfully at the burning flames of hell.

"I see, you're too stubborn to even listen to parental advice. Look, I may have failed in being a father to you, I haven't fulfilled any of my duties to you back then, but at least now listen to what I have to say, because all I really want is your own good!" Mutsuhito begged him.

"My good? You sure you don't have any gain from this?" Subaru asked while crossing his arms.

"Nothing can make up for all the lives that I have destroyed back then and I don't expect to. I'll gladly accept my punishment of an eternity in hell, but all that I want is to see you, Subaru, keep going! You've chosen this path, stick with it, don't give up and let Kaizer destroy all that you have built!"

"What can I do? Kaizer is way too powerful and now he has taken over Edo-kun's body and tricked me!"

"And what does that matter to you?! Did you care that Tabitha was powerful? No! Did you care that I was powerful? No! You simply kept fighting so that you could accomplish that dream of yours, so keep doing so, or are you dreamless now?" Mutsuhito asked.

"My dream…" Subaru murmured.

The black haired teenager then pictured himself running with his lover Tsugumi, his best friend Edo, and his three new friends Tamma, Luna and Tiger on a sunny field and having fun, dueling, joking, playing, relaxing. A calm life for him and those he cared about, that was his dream. But Kaizer was about to crush it. He couldn't let that happen. Subaru clenched his fist and then he looked into his father's eyes with determination.

"You're right; I'll never give up, not until Kaizer is defeated once and for all!"

"Now that's the Subaru that I know." Mutsuhito smiled to his son. "I never thought I would ever say this, but I am proud of you!"

"Thank you for the help, father. I will always be grateful." Subaru respectfully bowed to his parent and then he turned around and ran towards the black tunnel. "But now I have to go, so farewell!"

"Farewell my son, thanks to your forgiveness I have finally found my peace." Mutsuhito spoke in his mind and then he got surrounded by a white aura and disappeared from hell.

Subaru opened his eyes and saw that he was still lying on the metallic floor from the UFO. With new gathered strength, he got up and rushed out of the spaceship, ignoring his teammates which were all unconscious. He had more important business to attend at the temple.

Meanwhile Kaizer had just finished climbing the building's stairs and was standing once again in front of its entrance, but this time in the body of Edo. Putting his gladiator armor against a pillar, he then approached the gates and then he slowly stretched Edo's hand to the door to open it. For Kaizer this was a sacred moment which he had to savor every second of. Once he felt Edo's skin touching the door and not getting electrocuted, he pushed it with the boy's whole force and managed to open the gates. Then he slowly made steps forward, thus entering the temple.

"Now I enter this building not as a wanderer, not as treasure hunter, but as a winner." Kaizer said while looking around.

The building was huge and its walls were decorated with paintings that showed the conflicts that took place in the creature world. Kaizer distinguished Ballom's army that was invading the Fiona Woods and the Beast Folks and Giants defending themselves. He also saw the invasion of the Water civilization upon the Fire civilization and the battles between the Leviathans and Armored Dragons, between Liquid People and Humans. Then he also saw a painting of the great Shadowclash, the epic battle between the forces of Darkness and Light, between Ballom and Alcadeias. Then came a painting which depicted the Megapocalypse and showed how Billion Degree Dragon and his army of Survivors had escaped from the planet's core. And so on, Kaizer kept looking at the pictures that chronologically restored the history of the creature world until he reached the era of the Psychic Creatures; more specifically when the Zeta clan lead by Dias Zeta were acceding to power. That was when Kaizer reached an altar which was surrounded by the statues of the five civilization leaders: Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon, Crystal Zweilancer, Terradragon Diruga Vejida, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Dorballom, Lord of Demons. Floating above them all was the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened and Kaizer recognized the stained glass ceiling above the altar which depicted Dias Zeta reaching for the Proof.

"At last I have made it. Devil Diabolos Zeta, you are finally mine!" Kaizer declared and then he entered the altar, jumped in the air and grabbed the card.

The evil genius then made Edo's body turn back and walk to the entrance through which he came all while admiring his beloved prize. At long last, after so many hardships, Devil Diabolos Zeta was in his hands. Now all that he needed to do was to awaken it. But for that he needed a duel. Once he got out of the temple, a voice woke him up from his thoughts:

"Hey Kaizer, long time no see, huh?!"

Kaizer looked down at the stairs and saw Subaru climbing towards him.

"You're still up on your feet. Impressive indeed. I am starting to admire you, human." Kaizer complimented him.

"Spare me the fancy talk! Give me back Edo-kun's body in this instant!" Subaru demanded.

"Oh, you want him? Sure, just give me a second!"

Kaizer put the Devil Diabolos Zeta card in his armor's hand and then a black smoke came out of Edo's mouth and entered the gladiator suit whose red eyes reappeared on the helmet. Edo then closed his eyes and reverted to his paralyzed self.

"Here, take him, he's all yours!" Kaizer said and pushed Edo's body on the stairs.

"NO, EDO-KUN!" Subaru yelled and quickly climbed the stairs and grabbed his friend before he could get hurt. "You monster!"

"I have to thank you for letting me borrow your friend. Thanks to him I finally am in the possession of Devil Diabolos Zeta!"

"Over my dead body you are!"

Subaru took out his deck and challenged Kaizer to a duel. Kaizer accepted the challenge but first he teleported himself, Subaru and Edo to the lap of the hill so that there wouldn't be any complications since a duel on the stairs wasn't the most comfortable one. Then the golden gladiator made two purple spheres appear and float around him.

"With Devil Diabolos Zeta acquired, I can finally use my sixth and final deck!" Kaizer declared and pulled a deck out of one of the spheres in which he slid the card he had just gained from the temple.

Meanwhile Leona walked out of the UFO and saw the defeated Alwyn and Alien lying in a bush, but she didn't care about them. All that she wanted was to see what Kaizer was up to. The girl kept walking until she found her master facing Subaru in a kaijudo duel. She hid in a bush so that she wouldn't be caught and then she watched the match.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and drew two cards, then discarding Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie." Kaizer said and a green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress appeared by his side and blew up, thus giving him another card in his mana zone.

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon!" Subaru said and a black turtle with blue spikes on his back appeared, allowing him to draw a card and then discard Miracle Re Born.

"I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to my mana zone. Then Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight." Kaizer said and then a ghostly knight riding a horse and wielding a sharp spear appeared behind him.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!" Subaru said and a fire bird with green glasses on its forehead appeared above him.

"I summon Skysword, the Savage Vizier." Kaizer said and then a white tiger dressed in a golden armor and wielding two sharp swords appeared by his side. "Skysword's effect puts the top card of my deck to my mana zone and the top card of my deck to my shields."

"Alright, it's time to finish you off, Kaizer!" Subaru declared. "I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! With his effect I put another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the graveyard, and since Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I now attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff which will put a third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff into the graveyard! Now go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The purple knight aimed both yellow guns at Kaizer and with just two shots took down two of his shields. However, both cards that came into the gladiator's hand shined with great power and he showed them to his opponent saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare and send your untapped Zero Romanoff to the mana zone! Then I also cast Terror Pit and destroy Deepsea Typhoon!"

The second purple knight got surrounded by a green aura and disappeared while a black demonic hand grabbed the black turtle and crushed it in an instant.

"Crap! I end." Subaru sighed.

"And now it is my turn, I evolve Bloody Shadow into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia." Kaizer said and a golden angelic queen with a red cape appeared in the battle zone. "Now you won't be able to cast your precious spells. Go, Queen Alcadeias, destroy his tapped Zero Romanoff!"

The Queen created a yellow laser ball with her hands which she cast upon the purple knight destroying him. Then Kaizer ended his turn. It was a tough situation for Subaru. He had five mana and the only cards in his hand were Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. One he could not use due to Queen Alcadeias while the other wasn't quite useful. Since he had no other choice, Subaru tapped two mana cards and put the multicolored card on the table saying:

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

The black haired Duel Hero dressed in a dark blue suit appeared by his side and looked at the situation which was desperate for his user.

"Oh no, this isn't good at all!" Atsuto said while drawing two cards. "Let's hope that I can somehow help you."

The two cards that Subaru received were Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Aqua Naruto Surfer. Both were great removal cards that would help him get rid of Queen Alcadeias. However, Subaru still needed to wait two more turns to use one of them.

"I discard Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Subaru announced.

"Fabulous choice, I might say." Atsuto added.

"Very well, then it is my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Guard Hole and send Super Go On Pippi to your shields!" Kaizer said and then he watched how the little fire bird disappeared and Subaru gained a sixth shield. "Then I put Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler into the battle zone!"

Both Subaru and Atsuto stared at the Psychic Creature card that shared all the five civilizations and sweated.

"Uh oh, that card means trouble!" Atsuto said.

"I know, but I have to do my best to stop it!" Subaru added and drew his next card which to his disappointment was Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress. "I charge mana and end."

"The time has come, mortals! Witness the power of all civilizations! Awaken! Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened!" Kaizer called.

The card shined with the colors of the rainbow and flipped to its other side. A huge portal appeared in the sky and out of it came a giant creature in blue armor wielding two sharp purple swords and with an armor made of gold on its back which had two dragons and six blue wings attached to it.

"My God, I can't believe it…" Subaru said stunned. "It's actually him…"

Devil Diabolos Zeta opened his blue eyes and looked upon the world that was once again his to conquer. He saw that Kaizer was facing the chosen darkness duelist Subaru and that things were going well for his user. But then the golden armored duelist turned to the giant creature and shouted:

"I did as my creator told me, I have finally found you, now offer me an answer to my questions!"

Devil Diabolos Zeta made Kaizer fly in the air until he reached his eyelevel.

"What questions do you have exactly?" the creature spoke.

"What is my purpose in this world? Why did my creator make me?" Kaizer asked.

"Kaizer, the one who created you… is me!" Devil Diabolos Zeta's words shocked not only the armored duelist, but also Subaru and Atsuto. "Yes, it is true, you are my creation. Back when the chosen duelists defeated me with Last Storm Double Cross, I knew that the only way I could have my revenge was by having someone else do the dirty work for me. Since I couldn't count on Tabitha Lenox, I secretly created a purple spiky knight armor that resembled that of the Romanoffs and put a part of my spirit inside it, thus giving birth to the Bringer of Chaos known as Kaizer."

"If what you said is true… then I am part of you?" Kaizer asked amazed.

"Exactly."

"Then tell me, Devil Diabolos Zeta, my creator, what is my purpose in life?"

"I have created you Kaizer so that someone could find me in the temple that Tabitha had built for me and free me once again. In other words, your goal has been achieved!"

Kaizer couldn't believe it. All his life he had searched for a purpose and once he had finally found some answers, he realized that his goals had already been achieved. Seeing no more reason to live, Kaizer bowed his head with disappointment.

"Now it is time for you to return to me so that I will be whole again!" Devil Diabolos Zeta declared.

The creature fired a beam upon Kaizer and he didn't try to resist it in any way. Afterwards the armor descended and landed at the dueling table, Subaru and Atsuto seeing that his eyes had shifted from red to blue.

"What have you done to him?" Subaru demanded an answer.

"He has returned to the place where he came from, me. Now Kaizer doesn't exist anymore and this armor is my puppet!" Devil Diabolos Zeta explained. "And now let me thank you for contributing once again at awakening me!"

The possessed golden armor tapped the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened and the creature flew towards Subaru and used one of its swords to slash Atsuto, making him disappear, and the other to take down for of the chosen duelist's shields. Subaru took cover, but the shield shards managed to cause scratches on his black T shirt and short bleeds. The cards that were in Subaru's shields were Hades Death Gate, Inferno Sign, Super Go On Pippi and Deepsea Typhoon. The two shield triggers that he had gotten were both mono colored spells that couldn't be cast due to Queen Alcadeias. The armor then tapped the card that banned Subaru's spells and the golden angelic queen created another yellow laser ball which she cast upon the chosen duelist and broke his final shields. This time the shield shards hit him in the head and one of them was so sharp that it cased blood to fall from his forehead on his left cheek. Sadly for Subaru, the cards in his shields were Hades Death Gate and Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, a.k.a., nothing of use. The armored puppet tapped the card of Skysword and the golden armored tiger jumped at the boy and attacked him with its swords, making him fall hurt next to his paralyzed buddy.

All this was witnessed be a shocked Leona who couldn't believe what was happening before her very eyes.

"Kaizer did it, he has finally gotten his hands on the power. But such a great price he had to pay…" Leona thought.

The girl then turned around and disappeared in the island's jungle.

Meanwhile the noises that the duel was making outside had managed to wake up the other four chosen duelists. They all rushed to see what was going on and had the horror of seeing Subaru and Edo lying on the ground and Kaizer take off in the sky with a giant blue creature.

"My gosh, what is that thing?!" Tiger asked.

"Whatever it is, it's huge." Tamma commented.

"It's Devil Diabolos Zeta…" Tsugumi answered with fear.

"You mean that that monstrosity that is now flying in the skies is Devil Diabolos Zeta?!" Luna asked with fear and the blonde girl responded with a nod.

Tsugumi then rushed at the two boys and shook Subaru trying to wake him up.

"Subaru, please, you've got to wake up! Please don't die on me!" Tsugumi cried.

Much to her relief, she saw her lover open his brown eyes and stare into her crystal blue eyes. Sighing, Tsugumi turned to her teammates and said:

"Hurry, get the UFO ready and let's follow Devil Diabolos Zeta!"

Tamma, Luna and Tiger all nodded in agreement and ran away. Then as the blonde girl turned back to her lover, Subaru pulled her down and united their lips in a kiss. As they played with their tongues inside their mouths, Subaru once again let loose to streams of tears that fell on his lover's face. In that moment they could see their life together. How they met in the corn field, how they spent a year in that farm together, how Subaru declared his love to Tsugumi, how they went through many hardships and faced evils such as Zakira, Rezo, Tabitha, Mutsuhito, the romantic nights they shared and how happy they were together. Then Subaru let go of her and their mouths separated.

"Go…" Subaru advised her.

"But I can't, not without you!" Tsugumi replied.

"Please go, I'm of no use to the team in this state."

"No, if you're staying, then I'm staying too!"

"The team needs your help now, you've fought Devil Diabolos Zeta before and you're still in shape for battle."

"How could I possibly battle when I am worrying about you?"

"I promise you that whatever happens, we will meet again, Tsugumi." Subaru assured her. "We are soul mates, we will never be separated."

"Ok, just be careful!" Tsugumi said and then she turned around and walked away.

With each step that the girl did, she felt even more pain. Separating from her lover at those dangerous times was the last thing she needed. But Subaru was right, she had to take care of the team while he was of no value to them, so she accepted the will of destiny and walked on a different path than that of her lover.

The UFO soon took off and thus left Subaru and Edo all alone. Sighing, the chosen darkness duelist forced himself up despite his wounds and looked at the temple that was still standing majestically and imposingly on the top of the hill.

"Well, it's just the two of us, Edo-kun." Subaru spoke to the unconscious brown haired boy and then he leaned to pick him up. "It seems like we've got nothing to lose, so let's go and see what awaits us up there."

During that time, the chosen duelist UFO was searing through the air following Devil Diabolos Zeta who was trying to leave the ocean and reach the first signs of civilization which he would then destroy. The chosen duelists managed to wake up their friends, including Blane, and informed them on the situation. Now they were all ready for the battle that would decide the world's fate. As for Devil Diabolos Zeta, the creature had his mind on the empire that he would build on the human world and the thrill of destruction was making him the more eager to attack the unsuspecting humans. And with the armor of Kaizer as his marionette, he also had a dueling machine that would stall for time. Everything was set up perfectly for his return and nothing would stand in his way.

Back at the island, the sun was setting behind the temple and had turned the whole sky crimson red. Climbing on the building's stairs with the coming night behind him was Subaru, who also had his best friend Edo lying on his back. Each step that he took to climb was hard, but that didn't matter to him, or the danger in which the world was lying, or anything else. The only thing that mattered to him was that he was finally together with his best friend after so much time, even though he was still paralyzed.

"Nothing will ever tear us apart again, Edo-kun…" Subaru whispered with a smile as the blood was still falling on his left cheek.

The sun's final rays fell upon the face of Edo who was also smiling almost as if he had heard him.


	49. The Terror is unleashed!

Leona walked to the two minions of Kaizer who were still lying in the bushes. She shook Alwyn up who when he opened his eyes he accidentally punched Alien in the head, waking him as well.

"What's going on, la?" Alwyn asked.

"Why did you punch me, you idiot?!" Alien shouted at the young duelist.

"It was an accident! Get over it, ah!" Alwyn tried to defend himself.

"I have tolerated your useless presence for far too long!" Alien declared and jumped on Alwyn to beat him up.

"You crazy, la, get off me!" Alwyn shouted back and the two began to fight.

"Quit it, you two, we're in big trouble!" Leona interrupted them.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" Alwyn asked while pushing Alien off him.

"It's Kaizer…" Leona shortly spoke.

"Did something happen to Kaizer-sama?!" Alien panicked.

"He has awakened Devil Diabolos Zeta and then they both took off." Leona explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and help them, ah!" Alwyn suggested.

"Kaizer-sama needs us and we shall be there for him!" Alien added and then rushed to the UFO.

Meanwhile Devil Diabolos Zeta was flying above the ocean still in search for signs of civilization. Kaizer's armor was loyally following him like a dog following its master. But then he felt that something that also coming after him so he stopped and waited to see what it was. A black smoke then appeared in front of him and took the shape of a woman with long curly hair and red eyes.

"So he finally did it." the woman spoke.

"Tabitha Lenox, it is a pleasure meeting you again." Devil Diabolos Zeta said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Devil Diabolos Zeta. So everything went out according to our plan?"

"Yes, Kaizer has freed me and he has returned inside me. However, I have to show you my thanks for coming up with this plan and for helping him."

"Show your thanks by giving me a body! These last months had been a pain for me!"

"Your request shall be granted!"

In the next moment Devil Diabolos Zeta fired two blue beams from his eyes upon the black smoke and the witch burst out in laughter. She felt how the five human senses were returning to her at long last. Then she also felt moving limbs which belonged to her. Finally she would have a body once again. The witch also felt a weight on her head and she realized that it was the Queen of Evil crown. That only meant one thing, she would be young and have her powers maximized. When Devil Diabolos Zeta finished his laser beam attack, Tabitha was finally alive once again. However this time her clothes were a little different from last time. Her dark blue cape remained, but this time her boots were red, her royal purple clothes had turned into a purple skirt, long purple sleeves and short purple clothing that was covering her chest. That way the pentagram symbol that she had covering the region of her belly button could be seen. Her blonde hair was no longer curly but straight and still long. As for the red crown, the horns had each grown three small sharp spikes on the interior, making the ornament on her head look like a giant pincer. The witch opened her blue eyes and saw the sunset, the vast ocean and Devil Diabolos Zeta.

"Hahaha, at long last I am alive and well once again!" Tabitha laughed.

"Now you shall help me with conquering this world!" Devil Diabolos Zeta ordered.

"Don't you worry, now that we both are back, this world is ours for the taking!" the witch declared and thus both took off with the armor of Kaizer behind them.

A few miles behind the evildoers was the chosen duelist UFO that was approaching as fast as Nolan forced it to be. With that monster unleashed they had no time to waste. Inside it, as Nolan was piloting with Luna by his right side working on the ship's weapon's and Robert on his left side trying to set the cameras on Devil Diabolos Zeta, Tamma was training in his room harder than before to be in shape for the final battle and Tsugumi and Tiger were discussing with Blane and Hanna in the kitchen about the strategy that they would use against their enemy.

"Knowing Devil Diabolos Zeta, his first priority will most certainly be to find some big city to destroy." Tsugumi said.

"In that case, he will end up somewhere in Japan pretty soon." Tiger deduced.

"Judging by the speed with which we are going, we won't be able to stop him in time, but we will be able to reach him a few moments after he starts his attack on the city."

"In that case why don't we speed up a little? We're not going to let innocent lives die, now are we, Tsugumi?" Blane brought up.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to reach him in time. I'm sorry." Tsugumi regretted.

"Then how exactly do you suggest we fight this monster?" Tiger asked.

"Last time we managed to defeat him by using Last Storm Double Cross, the Super Awakened but that creature belonged to Rad the ex-chosen fire duelist who is now dead and his cards, well… were burned along with his body by the blast of Gallows Hellish Dragon." Tsugumi spoke with sorrow as she remembered the tragic moment of her friend's death at the hands of Tabitha.

"Then there has to be some other way to defeat him!" Tiger exclaimed while hitting the table with his fist. "I refuse to believe that Devil Diabolos Zeta is invincible! If I must, I will take on the creature all by myself!"

"Yeah, I agree with him, if anything we're going with our bare hands against him!" Blane added.

"I wouldn't that if I were you." Hanna interrupted them. "A single blast from Devil Diabolos Zeta is guaranteed to turn you to ashes. Believe me, I'm speaking from personal experience."

"What do you mean by 'personal experience'?" Tiger raised his eyebrow.

"Hanna was once destroyed by a single blast from one of Devil Diabolos Zeta's dragon heads." Tsugumi explained and that made Tiger's jaw drop as he stared at the blue haired girl with amazement.

"So that means she's a zombie or a ghost?!" Tiger exclaimed.

"Of course not, silly. Tabitha-sama was nice enough to revive me." Hanna explained.

"More like obligated so that she wouldn't feel guilt over your death anymore." Tsugumi commented.

All of a sudden the UFO shook. It had taken a full hit from a laser and it began to fall towards the ocean. Giving his best, Nolan managed to keep it a little above the water and then Robert turned the cameras on and they all saw they had been attacked by the UFO of Kaizer. In the next moment Tsugumi, Tiger, Blane, Hanna and Tamma all rushed in the control room to find out what the situation was.

"Just what exactly is going on out there?" Tiger asked.

"Company, of the unwelcomed kind!" Nolan explained and pointed to a screen on which they saw the ship of their former enemies.

"Oh great, we don't have time to waste with those clowns!" Tsugumi complained and then she walked to the command computer. "Luna, make contact with the other spaceship. I want to have a little chat with them."

"On the double!" the chosen water duelist replied and started pressing buttons on her keyboard so that she could establish a connection.

After a few seconds of waiting the images of Alien, Alwyn and Leona appeared on the screen.

"Alright guys, let's cut this short, what do you want from us now?" Tsugumi asked.

"You are intending to stand in the way of our leader and we cannot let that happen." Alien explained.

"Yeah, and besides it's always fun to blow stuff up, la!" Alwyn added.

"But what about you, chosen duelists? What are your plans exactly?" Leona curiously asked.

"I thought it was obvious by now…" Tsugumi replied.

"Well, Leona, let me put this shortly." Blane intervened and approached the screen. "We're on the way to kick Devil Diabolos Zeta's butt to kingdom come, teach mister tin can Kaizer to not screw with us and then we'll throw a party to celebrate saving the day once again. So I suggest you guys choose your sides carefully this time."

"Same wise guy I've known…" Leona commented with a nuance of nostalgia coming out of her voice.

"We are already on the winning side!" Alien declared and pressed some buttons that took out the spaceship's weapons out. "As for you, earthlings, your quest ends here!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Luna replied and pressed the red button from her keyboard.

In the next moment holes appeared in the chosen duelist UFO's walls out of which many laser guns came out. Alien was shocked by the fact that the heroes had way more weaponry than its own spaceship. It was obviously not a good thing for the villains.

"This is the only warning that we are giving to you guys: surrender now or else be destroyed!" Tsugumi announced them.

"Maybe we should do as she says, la." Alwyn said while sweating.

"Nonsense, if we are going down, then we will pull them with us!" Alien declared.

"Tsh, I'm not in the mood of sacrificing myself for some idiot's from outer space fanaticism." Leona thought.

In the next moment Alien pressed a button and thus all of the spaceship's weapons got charged and ready to fire at that of the chosen duelists. With a malefic grin on its face, the extraterrestrial pressed another button and waited for all the weaponry to fire. However, much to its shock, nothing happened.

"What? Where are the blasts and the explosions?" Alien asked.

"Sorry buddy, but there won't be any blasts coming from this ship today!" Leona answered the question by showing the wires that connected the main computer to the weapons.

"Are you crazy, female? What do you think you're doing?!" Alien shouted.

"Let's just say that I've gotten bored of you losers and that I'm doing what Blane advised to, a.k.a. picking the winning side!"

With those words being said, Leona ran to the main door and opened it revealing the ocean and the chosen duelist UFO which was only a few feet away from her. The blonde girl jumped off and had a fast fall but luckily for her the chosen duelists had witnessed her act of betrayal and moved their spaceship closer so that she would land on its roof. Now that the opposing ship was no longer a threat to them, the chosen duelists made their UFO take off once again in search for Devil Diabolos Zeta, this time with a new ally.

During that time, Devil Diabolos Zeta and Tabitha had finally reached dry land, more exactly the land of Japan. The inhabitants of the modern city that was built at the shores of the ocean were terrified at the sight of the giant monster. The citizens began to run in circles like desperate while the city's defense system initialized and a protective barrier rose.

"Hah, don't those losers know that this crappy thing won't hold us back?" the witch laughed.

"Care to make the honors, Tabitha?" Devil Diabolos Zeta suggested.

"Why sure!" Tabitha replied and fired a lightning from her right hand which destroyed the barrier once it touched it and also destroyed a sky scraper which fell upon two more buildings and crushed them. "Ah, I missed the smell of destruction so much!"

"Same here witch, but now our time has come once again!"

And so Devil Diabolos Zeta began to fire lasers from his dragon heads and slash off buildings with his swords, thus unleashing chaos upon the world. In order to make atmosphere, Tabitha rubbed her hands and then she fired a beam to the sky that turned it from blue to red. Afterwards the witch joined her friend in their destruction campaign.

Back at the ship of the heroes, they all greeted Leona inside the control room still surprised of her act of treason against her former comrades.

"Welcome aboard!" Tsugumi said.

"Thank you." Leona replied. "How long is it until we get to Devil Diabolos Zeta?"

"We should reach him in a matter of minutes." Nolan replied while driving the UFO.

"I see. In that case, I will wait." the girl said and then she walked to a corner and sat there with her arms crossed. "Ignore me; I don't want to hinder whatever you guys are up to."

"In that case I say we all go back to work!" Tiger suggested.

Robert and Luna returned by Nolan's side to help him with the computer work, Tamma returned to his room to train and Tiger, Tsugumi and Hanna went back to the kitchen to plan a battle strategy against their foe. However Blane walked to the corner in which Leona was sitting. He decided he would not let her go so easily and that he would somehow crack her shell.

"Hey there, Leona!" Blane greeted her.

"Long time no see…" the girl smirked.

"Say, what exactly are your intentions? Why did you betray Kaizer?"

"Betray Kaizer? You're mistaken there pal, there is no more Kaizer for me to betray. I simply decided to abandon those two disillusioned morons."

"What do you mean that there is no more Kaizer? And if you're not on their side anymore, then what are you up to, Leona?"

"Kaizer doesn't exist anymore, simple as that. As for why I left them, don't think that I want to become some goodie-two-shoe like you guys are, I'm just interested in seeing how this will all end and I have a feeling that the path on which Kaizer's followers are going is one of destruction, thing which I don't want to suffer."

"Tough talk coming from the one who has caused destruction upon so many lives." Blane reminded her.

"Like I care. Now get out of my sight! I want to have some peace and quiet." Leona said.

Night had fallen upon the island of Devil Diabolos Zeta's temple. Inside it was walking the wounded Subaru who was still carrying his paralyzed friend Edo on his back. The black haired teenager walked down the same passage that Kaizer first went and he admired all the paintings that told the history of the creature world on the way. Finally he reached the altar of the temple and entered the circle formed by the statues of the five leaders of the civilizations. Sensing that this was his destination, he got Edo off him and put him down against the statue of Crystal Zweilancer. Afterwards he entered the center of the circle and looked at the stained glass which pictured the demon Dias Zeta who was reaching for the Proof of Duelmaster.

"After all I've been through; I never imagined that I would ever set foot in here. This place is fantastic! I can't believe that such a beautiful building could be a hiding place for an evil card such as Devil Diabolos Zeta. And yet, here I am, weakened and defeated sitting in a giant temple on an island in the middle of nowhere while my friends are putting their lives in risk to save the world from that monster." Subaru spoke to himself and then he looked at Edo for a few moments. "And yet somehow because of you Edo-kun I am happy of the choice that I made. Maybe for once I should take a break from being out there in front line. After all, being in the back line is not that bad either. Hehe, here I go again, talking only about nonsense that leads nowhere. Maybe Raiden was right; maybe I do talk a lot and make no action. But is any action that we humans make really that worthy? When did a human ever do something extraordinary that redefined the universe or the nature of existence? Haha, exactly, there was none. We think we are so powerful and yet we are so limited being stranded on this planet. And yet we do not possess the virtue called humility we should have since we are nothing more than micro particles when compared to the glory and vastness of the universe. Once I even thought that since we managed to connect with the creature world we could somehow realize that we are not the greatest species to ever live and that by dueling with creatures by our side we could find a way to cooperate. How foolish I was, that thing will never be possible. We humans are simply too selfish and greedy and of course that once we got our hands on the power of summoning creatures to our world then psychopaths such as Zakira, Rezo and Tabitha would rise up to use that power in order to claim our world. It just shows that we simply don't deserve to be blessed with anything, because most likely we would use it for our own egoistic gains. Such a pitiful species we are. Sometimes I wonder why I had to be born a human…"

"Because I need you to put my plan in action!" a voice spoke.

"Huh? Who said that?" Subaru asked.

A blue light came from his jeans and the Proof of Duelmaster came out of the pocket and floated in front of him.

"Subaru, I was waiting for you to enter the temple and I am glad you did!" the Proof affirmed.

"Tsh, what do you want now, arrogant rock?" Subaru said disgusted.

"Your help. And if all goes well, Devil Diabolos Zeta will go down once and for all!"


	50. Destructive Power

By the time the chosen duelist UFO reached the first Japanese city that was located at the shores of the ocean, they noticed that chaos had already been installed there. The buildings were on fire and some were crashing on the poor desperate humans that were trying to escape. In the center of the battle was Devil Diabolos Zeta whose swords and dragon heads were unleashing incredible power. When Robert managed to get the cameras on, the inhabitants of the UFO saw that it was hell on earth. Tamma and Luna were scared by the menacing beast, Tiger and Blane were angered and more determined to rush out in battle, Nolan and Robert were panicked as they were trying to think of a way to defeat Devil Diabolos Zeta, and Tsugumi and Hanna were the most affected as the past had come back to haunt them.

"How are we ever going to beat that?" Nolan asked.

"We have to try, there has to be a way!" Tiger clenched his fist. "Blane, let's get our creatures out and stop that fiend!"

"You got it, dude!" Blane replied and both rushed out of the control room.

"Guys, wait, we have to think this… " Tsugumi shouted after them but then she was interrupted by Hanna who pointed to the computer screen.

"Tsugumi-chan, look over there!" Hanna spoke horrified.

When Tsugumi set her eyes on the giant monitor, she experienced the same shock as her friend. Out there in the battlefield helping Devil Diabolos Zeta destroy buildings was a young blonde witch dressed in purple clothes with a dark blue cape and a crown with two giant red horns.

"I don't believe it… How is it possible…?" Tsugumi gasped. "Is that…"

"…Tabitha-sama." Hanna completed the sentence. "She has come back!"

"But how? No, wait, we don't have time to bother with that. The point is that if she's out there helping Devil Diabolos Zeta, we'll have to stop her as well!" Tsugumi said.

"In that case let me handle her!" Hanna suggested and took out her Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg card.

"Hanna-san, it could be dangerous."

"I know, but I don't want to waste time here doing nothing! She was my master, she once cared for me, I am sure that I can somehow change her mind if I just try!"

"Fine, but be careful!"

And so Hanna took off as well going after Tiger and Blane. Tsugumi turned once again to the screen to analyze the situation so that she could cook up a plan.

"Should we enter the city?" Nolan suggested.

"And do what? Put our lives in danger as well?" Luna countered.

"Well I don't know, maybe we could help some innocent citizens? It's just a thought." Nolan ironically replied.

"We cannot help them because we might enter Zeta's field as well. I'm honestly very sorry, guys, but those poor people are on their own!" Tsugumi broke it up to them.

"I hate sitting around and doing nothing!" Tamma yelled loudly and everyone turned their attention to him. "Seriously, we should all be out there fighting that thing! We're chosen duelists; we shouldn't just waste time watching!"

"The situation is very different this time! We need to think of a good strategy to stop Devil Diabolos Zeta, and I can't do any of that with all of you complaining about the lack of action, thank you!" Tsugumi raised the tone of her voice as well.

In the end the red haired child calmed down and everyone agreed to do the same. If they wished to win the battle, they had to calm down their minds and keep their calm.

Meanwhile Tiger and Blane were sitting at the opened entrance of the ship and looking at the city that was being destroyed. The brown curly haired teenager already had his fire card ready, but the blonde chosen duelist was still contemplating the sight in front of him.

"Hey dude, wake up, we don't have time for daydreaming!" Blane waved his hand in front of Tiger's face and caught his attention. "Come on, get Tora out and let's do this!"

"Oh right, just a minute!" Tiger replied and search in his pants' pockets, finally pulling out the card of Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~.

"Huh? Jin? But I thought that your avatar was Quatro Fang, Burning Soul."

"Hehe, well it evolved during this past month so that it would fit my deck more."

"I see. Well then let's go!" Blane exclaimed and summoned a golden dragon that held an orb in its chest and that was holding two shield like disks shaped like arrows and had wings of electricity.

"Very well, let's do this!" Tiger replied and summoned a fire winged white wolf warrior that was wielding a flame sword.

The two duelists jumped on the backs of their creatures and took off towards the city. As they were approaching Devil Diabolos Zeta from behind, they could feel the heat of the fires that were consuming the buildings.

"Shouldn't we wait on the Proof to aid us?" Blane asked.

"The Proof is with Subaru and he isn't here." Tiger replied. "And besides, we don't have time to get the gem back. We either stop Devil Diabolos Zeta now or never!"

"Alright then, I'll be here to back you up no matter what!" Blane assured him.

"I appreciate that." Tiger thanked, something rare from him.

The two creatures flew towards the monster and when they were close enough their both used their weapons to hit Zeta in the back, thus catching his attention and making him turn to them.

"Prepare to defend yourself, Zeta!" Tiger warned the beast.

"You don't think you can really stand a chance against me, do you, human?" the creature asked.

"Destiny is on our side!" Tiger declared.

"Don't make me laugh!" Devil Diabolos Zeta dismissed.

Both Tiger and Blane gave war shouts and their creatures began to spit fire upon the enormous World Command. However to Devil Diabolos Zeta, those attacks were nothing more than mere tickles. With a simple swing from his sword, not only did he hurt their creatures, but he also pushed both creatures and their users into a building, they coming out of the other side and the enormous construction collapsing over other smaller ones. When the smoke cleared, the giant creature saw that the two duelists and their avatars were still standing despite being wounded.

"This is far from over!" Blane declared.

"You four are nothing more to me than annoying cockroaches!" Devil Diabolos Zeta informed them.

"Oh yeah? Then let's see if you can grab these roaches!" Tiger challenged.

In the next moment both Ogre Warrior Kaiser and Jin jumped in the air and flied once again but this time they flew around in circles around Devil Diabolos Zeta at high speed. The creature was confused and did not know where to keep his eyes on. When he got dizzy, he finally spoke to his opponents:

"Your mindless antics are beginning to annoy me, and I hate being annoyed!"

In the next moment the dragon heads of Devil Diabolos Zeta began to fire at those that were annoying him and thus the battle between them really began.

Back at the chosen duelist UFO, as the heroes were watching their friends battle the giant creature and waiting for Tsugumi to hatch up a plan, all of a sudden a laser hit the ship. The attack forced Nolan to make an emergency landing at the city's beach. When Robert got the cameras back on, they saw that those who attacked them were Alwyn and Alien who had come all the way after them with their spaceship whose guns were now repaired. The image of the crazy duo appeared on the computer screen and Alien spoke:

"You will not interfere with the affairs of Kaizer-sama! Not as long as we are here!"

"You fool; your master doesn't exist anymore!" Tsugumi shouted.

"Lies, Kaizer-sama is right there in the heat of battle!" Alien replied. "I have seen him as he was destroying buildings. And you will not interfere with his wishes!"

"Listen, Alien, the Kaizer you knew doesn't exist anymore. Leona told us that his spirit has returned to Devil Diabolos Zeta and that his armor is only a puppet. So why don't you calm down and think the situation for a second?" Tsugumi suggested.

"I see your plan; you are trying to deceive us. But it won't work!" Alien stubbornly said. "You are lucky that the ship's guns are now recharging, because now the two of us will have to take you down in a kaijudo duel!"

"Tsugumi-chan, let me and Tamma take care of these jokers!" Luna got up from her chair with her deck ready and the blonde girl nodded to her. "Great, let's go, Tamma!"

"Alright, time to kick some butt!" Tamma exclaimed and ran with Luna out of the control room.

In a few moments the two chosen duelists got out of their spaceship and set foot on the beach. They saw Kaizer's UFO landed not far from theirs and Alwyn and Alien coming out of it with their decks ready.

"Alright, let's settle this once and for all!" Luna said.

"I agree. The losers will leave this city and never come back!" Alien replied.

"Bring it on; we'll tear you to scrap!" Tamma threatened.

"No, we'll blow you up and throw you in an Onsen instead, la!" Alwyn threatened back.

Four dueling tables rose from the ground and the duelists sat at them. The matches were Tamma VS Alwyn and Luna VS Alien. Being the rusher that he was, Tamma was the first to make a move.

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and a horned humanoid warrior dressed in a black armor appeared behind him.

"I summon Fist Ace, the Meteoric!" Alwyn said and a black haired red armored humanoid with a white X scar on his chest appeared behind him.

"I summon Laurier, Ogre Princess!" Tamma continued and a black haired girl dressed in battle armor and with two giant guns on her shoulders appeared next to his other humanoid. "Go Vorg, break his shield!"

The black armored creature gave a war cry and rushed through the battle zone breaking one of Alwyn's shields with its mace. However the shield shards quickly united into a red card which shined and made a red metallic scrapper appear and crush the creature.

"Shield trigger, I cast Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Vorg!" Alwyn said. "And now it's my turn, I summon Shooting Exedrive! Go, Exedrive and Fist Ace, break his shields, la!"

The two Fire Hunters rushed at Tamma and used their weapons to break through two of his shields. However the shield shards united into a red card which shined and then a red haired girl with pony tails riding a battle machine appeared and blasted the red lizard warrior in silver suit.

"Shield trigger, I summon Moel, Lovely Ogre Sniper and destroy Shooting Exedrive!" Tamma said. "I summon Jooni Moririya. Go, Moel and Laurier, break his shields!"

The two female humanoids aimed their weapons at Alwyn and after a few blasts two more of his shields were gone. But since the shield triggers were merciless, the shield shards once again united with speed into two cards that went into Alwyn's hand and he showed one to his opponent saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast another Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and destroy Moel and Laurier!"

Yet another red metallic scrapper appeared and this time it took care of the two girls.

"I summon Unicorn Fish and send Jooni Moririya back to your hand!" Alwyn said and a brown spiky fish appeared out of nowhere and bit Tamma's muscular horned humanoid making him disappear. "Fist Ace, break his shield, ah!"

The red armored humanoid rushed at Tamma and used its fist to break another shield.

"I summon Jooni Moririya and Straight, Fighting Ogre!" Tamma brought once again two creatures in his battle zone.

"It's over for you, fire boy! I cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole, destroy Jooni Moririya and put Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!" Alwyn said and then Tamma's muscular horned humanoid exploded and a red armored dragon wielding two yellow swords of fire appeared by his side. "You're finished at long last! Gaial Kaiser, break his final shields, la!"

The dragon roared and flew towards Tamma swinging his swords and slashing off the boy's last two shields. It seemed that all was over for him. Alwyn had two attackers which could finish him and even if he got a Moel or Terror Pit, it would have been useless. Tamma took cover as the shield shards hit him and fearfully awaited his defeat. But just then he heard Subaru's voice speak to him:

"_You have the potential, Tamma, so keep on going!"_

Remembering this, the boy opened his eyes and took a look at the two cards that he had received from his shields. He then smiled towards Alwyn and said:

"Sorry pal, but I'm afraid it's you the one who is finished! Shield trigger, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Fist Ace and Unicorn Fish!"

"WHAT?!" Alwyn yelled with shock as the pink chainsaw cut both his humanoid and his fish to half.

"And now it's my turn, I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell! And since Straight makes my Human evolution creatures cost 2 mana less, I evolve Vorg into Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!" Tamma said and then a giant humanoid in a thick red armor wielding two black cannons and having an X scar on its chest appeared in the battle zone. "Go, Ogre Beater, destroy Gaial Kaiser!"

The humanoid shot one of its cannons at the dragon and blew it immediately.

"Then Ogre Beater untaps after winning the battle! Go Straight, break his final shield!" Tamma ordered and the smaller humanoid used his samurai sword to slash off Alwyn's last shield.

"I can't believe it! Why you beat me again, la?!" Alwyn asked frustrated.

"That's because good always wins, pal! And now I bare you good bye – Ogre Beater, todomeda!"

The humanoid aimed his cannons once again and then… Boom! Alwyn flew away yelling out the following words:

"This is not the end of the Onsen, la!"

Tamma victoriously walked up to Luna who was clapping to congratulate him for the victory. Then she pointed to their UFO and he nodded in response and headed back. Afterwards the girl began to set the cards on her dueling table and said:

"Alright, Mister Alien, let the match begin!"

"It will be a pleasure taking you down in the name of Kaizer-sama!" Alien replied and began to set its cards as well.

"Duel start!" both shouted and thus their match began.

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow." Luna said and a red and blue cat appeared by her side and she drew a card.

"I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet." Alien said and a golden sphere that had a mouth with sharp teeth appeared by its side.

"I summon Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand."

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

"I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser and destroy him along with Gaga Pikarian!"

"Tsh, I summon Gaga Petrova, Light Weapon! Now all of my other Aliens gain +4000 more power."

"I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, destroy Gaga Petrova and put Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows in the battle zone!" Luna said and a red robotic alien with three heads, flame and water throwers appeared behind her. "Alright, Pinky, let's do this!"

Hot Spring Gallows roared in approval of his master.

"Your creature does not scare me one bit, human! I evolve Gaga Crouton into Emperor Cebu Marco X and draw three cards! Go, Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break her shields!" Alien ordered and the green alien made its attack that took down two of the blue haired girl's shields.

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, send Emperor Cebu Marco X back to your hand and put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!" Luna said and then Alien's creature got surrounded by a spiral of water and disappeared and afterwards a blue metallic dragon with a fire horn on its forehead and holding a sword of fire in its tail appeared behind her and roared. "Now you will put all of your mana cards tapped."

"If your desire is to switch to Psychic Creatures, then I will fulfill your wish! I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and put Gaga Sirius, the Temporal in the battle zone!" Alien said and then a giant grey metallic battle ship with mouths which emanated dark blue smoke appeared behind it.

"Very well, Mister Alien, it is time to show you what my Pinky is capable of! I summon Raging Apache Lizard and by its effect I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!" Luna said and then a red armored dragon wielding two yellow flame swords appeared in the battle zone. "Then by Hot Spring Gallows, my Pinky's effect, I put Raging Apache Lizard on the top of my deck and then put it back in the battle zone once again! With its effect I put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone who won't allow your Gaga Sirius to block or attack until my next turn!"

A purple haired princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared in the battle zone and cast a white aura upon the blue and the red dragons, uniting with the two and turning into a giant winged dragon that shined with all colors, gold being the predominant and that was wielding a sword with its tail.

"Victory Psychic Link, arise Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory!" Luna exclaimed.

"This can't be!" Alien exclaimed with fear.

"Gaial Ore Dragon, break all shields!"

Listening to Luna's order, Gaial Ore Dragon flew towards the poor Alien and with just a swing from its sword it took down all five shields.

"Sh-shield trigger, I cast DNA Spark!" Alien barely spoke.

A light that was shaped like a helix fell upon Luna's battle zone and tapped her Hot Spring Crimson Meow, Emeral and Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows. Then Alien put the top card of its deck to the shield zone.

"This is far from over, earthling! Even though you have stopped my Gaga Sirius for this turn, I can Loop Awaken him into Cebu Lancer, the Temporal which isn't affected by your Pudding Pudding in any way!" Alien said and then the giant grey battleship got surrounded by a blue aura and turned into a blue eyeless centaur that had a huge sharp mouth and two lances, a dark blue one and a red one. "And now I summon Gaga Crouton, the Prophet and Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard! By Cebu Algol's effect I put Alien Father (Just 1 Song?) into the battle zone! Alien Father makes all of my Aliens slayers, so I attack Gaial Ore Dragon with Cebu Lancer!"

The blue lancer rushed at the multicolored dragon and the two creatures battled, both blowing up, but the dragon separating into the two armored dragons from before, the princess disappearing into the hyperspatial zone.

"Now let's see you try to defeat me while I have slayer blockers!" Alien provoked the girl.

"I'll gladly accept your challenge, Mister Alien!" Luna eagerly replied. "I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist, by its effect I'll look at the top five cards of my deck and select one that will go to my hand. If it is a fire or nature one, I may return one of your creatures to your hand." Luna picked the five cards from her deck and then she selected one and revealed it to her opponent as Self-Destructing Gil Poser. "I send Gaga Crouton back! And now I summon Self-Destructing Gil Poser and destroy both him and your Cebu Algol!"

"No, my blockers are gone!" Alien said worried.

"Victorious Meteor Kaiser, break the final shield!"

The blue dragon roared and swung the fire sword with its tail slashing Alien's final shield. Much to the being's from outer space disappointment, it got no shield triggers.

"Have a nice day, Mister Alien! Pinky, todomeda!" Luna ordered and Hot Spring Gallows unleashed both fire and water upon Alien and threw the extraterrestrial away after Alwyn.

The chosen water duelist packed her cards up and then she turned around to find Leona sitting at the entrance of the UFO with her arms crossed.

"Hey, nice duel you put up there!" Leona complimented her.

"Thank you, I didn't know I had an audience." Luna shyly replied.

"It seems like I have underestimated you chosen duelists, you really are strong!"

"Well, Leona-san, we did train a lot to become better duelists so we could save the world. It is our duty, you see."

"The question is: are you guys strong enough to defeat Devil Diabolos Zeta?"

"That… remains to be seen. But we are doing our best, you know!"

"Heh, this will be one interesting battle indeed." Leona grinned at the chosen duelist and then she turned around and walked back in the UFO, Luna soon following her.

At the city as Devil Diabolos Zeta was kept busy by Tiger and Blane, Tabitha was still joyously firing lightning upon buildings and watching them crush on the humans that were trying to evacuate the endangered area. The more desperate they were, the more pleasure she gained from watching them. But the witch woke from her state of euphoria as she heard someone shout:

"Tabitha-sama! Tabitha-sama!"

"That voice…" Tabitha murmured and when she turned her back she had the shock of seeing Hanna riding Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg and heading in her direction.

Meanwhile at the temple, Subaru's discussion with the Proof was still going on as the gem had begun to explain its plan to the chosen darkness duelist:

"Subaru, in order for my plan to succeed I need you to bring Devil Diabolos Zeta back to the temple. For us he is our only light of survival."

"What are you talking about? He isn't any light. He's not even close to being a light. Just looking at him makes me think of the whole world being sucked into total darkness!"

"Child, do not forget that everything has two sides, one to destroy and one to create…"

"What? You expect me to believe that you will somehow use Zeta to bring back peace?"

Then Subaru remembered the horrible chaos that Devil Diabolos Zeta had caused a few months ago in the Zeta Wars, the death of his friend Atsuto, the destruction of Mumbai, the battles he fought with Raiden, and Kaizer's armor being turned into a puppet. Then the black haired teenager looked at his friend Edo, clenched his fist and spoke:

"Give me a break, that's crazy! This whole battle has been because of Zeta!"

"Indeed it has, Subaru, but by my plan we will be able not only to seal the evil incarnation of the creature, but also use its card as a brand new source of power for dueling, almost like a new Proof of Duelmaster!" the gem explained.

"You actually expect me to help you after all you put me through? You didn't lay a finger to heal any of my hurt friends or do anything to comfort us! All you've did was to send us, your chosen duelists, in battles and put our lives at risk! So tell me, here and now, Proof, what good reason do I have to carry out your plan?" Subaru asked.

"Because even though you may disagree with me, chosen darkness duelist, I know that you dream of a world of peace. For that dream to come true, you must defeat Devil Diabolos Zeta, and the only way of doing that is by following my plan!"

"No, there has to be another way, I won't collaborate with someone like you!"

And with those words being said, Subaru turned around and walked away. The chosen darkness duelist stopped at the gates of the temple and admired the night sky which was filled with shining stars and seemed so peaceful. Sighing, Subaru looked at his right hand which was emanating his purple kaijudo energy.

"I wish I knew what is the right thing to do…" the black haired teen whispered to himself.


	51. Showdown

At its master's order, Lunarzberg stopped in the middle of the burning city right in front of Tabitha who was floating in the sky. The witch was surprised of seeing her former minion find her right as she was unleashing havoc once again upon the world, but at the same time she was pleased by that. Tabitha smiled to the girl and then she spoke to her with a friendly tone:

"Hanna, it is such a delight to see you again!"

"It's been a long time, Tabitha-sama." the girl replied.

"So what have you been up to these months as I was dead?" Tabitha asked.

"Not much actually, just wandering in this vast world of ours, looking for a purpose."

"Well look no more, child, because now that I have been revived you can join me once again in my conquest of conquering the whole world! It will be so much fun. We will destroy cities, enslave nations, all while eating popcorn and drinking wine."

"Um, Tabitha-sama, I don't think that…"

"Oh, you're right Hanna; youngsters like you aren't allowed to drink."

"No, what I meant to say is that I don't think it's such a good idea for me to go on this conquest."

"What?!" Tabitha yelled.

"And I also don't think that it's a good idea that you go on it either." Hanna continued. "Destruction will only lead to further destruction, including the destruction of you. So why don't you join us instead?"

"Fool, I have chosen the path of destruction and I will walk on it!"

"But Tabitha-sama, look at what your reckless actions have done! Because of you, Rad and Sora are dead and poor Edo is immobilized. What's worse, Subaru has to see him like this every day and is struggling with the guilt that the situation would have been different if he had faced you!"

"Nice little tale, but what exactly is your point?" Tabitha dismissively said.

"Three lives had been ruined because of you!" Hanna shouted at the witch.

"And I couldn't be more proud of doing it! Listen here, we are evil and destroying lives is what we are supposed to do, so get used to it!"

"No, Tabitha, you are the evil one! I thought that somewhere within the blackness of your heart there might be some good left, but I was wrong. You don't even deserve the title of 'sama' anymore. From now on I, Hanna, wish to not have anything to do with you again!"

"Then so be it!"

After responding to the girl, Tabitha fired a laser upon the nine headed dragon and made it fall from the sky along with Hanna. The witch then crossed her arms and watched with disgust how her former minion fell into the burning city. But then a Saint Chan-Merrie appeared out of nowhere and grabbed both the blue haired girl and the creature and flew off with them towards the beach.

"Huh? Who did that?" Tabitha asked.

"Hey there witch, missed me?" a familiar voice spoke.

Tabitha turned her head and was shocked to see Tsugumi sitting on the roof of an unaffected building with her hand glowing with bright yellow kaijudo energy and her eyes fiercer than ever, ready for a fight.

"Ah yes, if it isn't the eternal pest, Tsugumi Shirayama!" Tabitha exclaimed.

"My team's willpower is strong enough for us to fight against Devil Diabolos Zeta. He will soon be brought down, so I don't think that you should hang out with him anymore. But there is a way out for you, Tabitha. You can join us. It's your only hope of survival."

"I'm not a fool, Shirayama girl! Read my lips, I am Tabitha, the supreme Queen of Evil!" the witch declared.

"Hahaha, I guess some things never change…" Tsugumi remarked.

"I don't know how you do it, but you have an uncanny way of getting under my skin!"

"Oh?"

"Hah, but still, you, your lover and your friend Rad were my most worthy opponents."

"Enough pleasantries! Are you ready to settle this, Tabitha?"

"And all this time I thought I was waiting for you. Alright, Tsugumi, but I warn you, my deck's power has increased!"

"What?"

"Every moment spent with Devil Diabolos Zeta gave me enough power to pass the borderlines of the Hall of Fame. And now my deck is invincible!" Tabitha declared and took out her deck which immediately gave Tsugumi a strange sensation. "Feast your eyes on the brand new deck of the Queen of Evil!"

"You don't say… Well let's get down to business!" Tsugumi replied and took out her deck as well.

Tabitha teleported the blonde girl and herself in the middle of the city where there were no humans left and only burning buildings. Two dueling tables came out of the road and they put their decks on them and set their cards, with the rise of their ten shields the match beginning.

"I cast Ghost Touch!" Tsugumi said and made Tabitha discard Slash Charger. "Huh? But that card is banned!"

"Foolish child, I told you that my deck has passed the borderlines of the Hall of Fame and now I can easily use banned cards! I am what is called a Hybrid!" Tabitha replied. "I summon Poisonous Mushroom and with its effect I put Hyperspatial Vice Hole in my mana zone."

"She is trying to increase her mana count so that she can use something from her hand. I got to get rid of that before it's too late! But first, let's replenish my hand." Tsugumi thought and then she said. "I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top cards of her deck were Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and Ghost Touch. They were either Darkness or Light, so they all went to her hand.

"My turn, I charge mana and end." Tabitha quickly made her turn.

"Then it's time to foil your plan, witch! I cast Ghost Touch and also summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her! Now you will discard the last two cards of your hand!" Tsugumi said and watched how Tabitha discarded Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God. "Alright, witch plans foiled!"

"Don't get too happy yet, chosen light duelist! I summon Kodamanma, Gil Gil Puppet!"

By the creature's effect, one of Tabitha's shields got broken and she got a card in her hand. Even though she had to suffer the consequences of losing a shield, she had managed to somewhat replenish her hand.

"I summon Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Aquan Jr's Delivery to my hand!" Tsugumi said.

"I summon Evolution Totem!" Tabitha said and then the cards from her deck floated in the air one by one until one of them flew into her hand. "By its effect I take Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God to my hand!"

"Oh no, next turn she'll certainly summon Mad Romanoff and then cast one of those ugly spells from her mana zone!" Tsugumi thought and looked at the Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Hyperspatial Vice Hole from her opponent's mana zone. "I cannot prevent this from happening, but at least I can prepare myself."

"Hahaha, what's the matter, chosen light duelist? Did I just foil your hand replenishing plans?" Tabitha arrogantly asked.

"Grr, I'll show you! I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole, tap Evolution Totem and put Galaxy, Temporal Immortal into the battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then a mechanical blue angel appeared in the battle zone. "Chief De Baula, destroy Evolution Totem!"

"Such a desperate girl we've got here. Oh well, it's time to put you out of your misery. Mad Deck Evolution!" Tabitha said and revealed the top three cards from her deck which were Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Inferno Gate and Taiga, the Warrior Savage. "I evolve Taiga into Mad Romanoff, the Wicked God! I now attack with Mad Romanoff and use its meteorburn to send Taiga to the graveyard. Then I cast Hyperspatial Vice Hole and you'll have to show me your hand!"

Tsugumi showed Tabitha the two cards which were Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Energy Stream. The witch discarded the spell and then she put Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler into the battle zone. Afterwards Mad Romanoff broke one of Tsugumi's shields. A blue light came from the place where the shield once stood and a blue surfer riding a surfboard came out of it and hit Kodamanma, making it disappear.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Kodamanma back to your hand!" Tsugumi said. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, destroy Poisonous Mushroom and put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone!"

"Your time has now come, Tsugumi Shirayama!" Tabitha announced. "I send Mad Romanoff along with two mana cards back into my deck and awaken Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened!"

All of a sudden, Devil Diabolos Zeta disappeared from the place where Tiger and Blane were pestering him and reappeared at the dueling place behind Tabitha. Tsugumi stared at the giant creature with fear for she knew what was coming.

"I charge mana and summon Kodamanma, Gil Gil Puppet to return one of my shields to my hand. Now Devil Diabolos Zeta, attack and destroy Black Ganveet, Aqua Surfer and Galaxy!" Tabitha ordered and the creature flew in the battle zone and used its right sword to slash the golden armored demon, then the left sword to slash the blue surfer and finally its right dragon head to blast the blue angel away.

"You've just made a big mistake, Tabitha!" Tsugumi announced her opponent. "When Galaxy leaves the battle zone, it awakens! So I now awaken King of Galaxy, Destruction Awakened!"

A light glowed brightly and then an even bigger mechanical angel appeared, this time with a green armor and three pairs of blue wings.

"Like it matters... Devil Diabolos Zeta, break all of her shields!" Tabitha ordered and the blue psychic creature fired lasers from its left dragon head and took down the girl's four shields. "Looks like victory is mine, doesn't it, Tsugumi?"

"I wouldn't rush out to claim it yet if I were you, Tabitha! Shield trigger activate, I summon Mr Aqua and send Devil Diabolos Zeta back to the hyperspatial zone!"

A blue knight wielding a golden scepter appeared in the battle zone and hit Devil Diabolos Zeta with it, making him vanish.

"You are on your own, Tabitha." the creature said and then he returned to his battle with Tiger and Blane.

"Tsh, release and the creature turns back to Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler." Tabitha spoke with disappointment.

"And now it's my turn, I cast Hide and Seek! By its effect I send Diabolos Zeta back to the hyperspatial zone and discard the last card from your hand!" Tsugumi said and then a blue hand made of water grabbed the card from Tabitha's battle zone and placed it in the hyperspatial zone and afterwards a purple hand made of clouds took the last card that the witch held and threw it in her graveyard. "Then Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight! Also, I summon Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier and end!"

Tabitha growled and stared angrily at Tsugumi's table. She had an army of blockers even though she was shield less and she also had a 11500 powered double breaker. Meanwhile the witch had only three mana cards, no cards in hand and only a small Kodamanma in her battle zone. To make it worse for her, the next card she drew wasn't that good either.

"You'll pay for this!" Tabitha threatened the girl and then she put Hyperspatial Emperor Hole in her mana zone.

"No, Tabitha, the one that will pay is you!" Tsugumi replied as she put a rainbow card in her battle zone. "Evolution! Bloody Shadow, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

A female golden angel dressed in a red cape appeared behind the chosen light duelist.

"Go, King of Galaxy, double break her shields!" the chosen light duelist ordered and the angel fired lasers that took down two of Tabitha's shields. "Mil Armor, break her final shield!"

Once the attacks finished, Tabitha saw that she had nothing that could help her defend herself from a final strike. The witch looked with fear at Tsugumi as the blonde girl tapped her Queen Alcadeias card and gave the finishing order:

"Tenshi, get her, todomeda!"

What followed next was an explosion in which Tabitha disappeared along with her cards.

Back at Devil Diabolos Zeta's fight, the creature had been fed up with Tiger and Blane and their speedy creatures that kept spinning around him, so he fired lasers from his dragon heads in all directions until at last he managed to hit Ogre Warrior Kaiser and had the creature fall on the ground all wounded. This made Jin cease spinning around and he went after the wounded dragon. Tiger jumped off his creature and approached Blane was had blood coming out of his left shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Tiger asked while helping him get up.

"Nah, I'll make it. Now let's go back, Devil Diabolos Zeta awaits us!" Blane replied but then he put his hand on his shoulder to calm down the pain.

"No, you're staying here; this battle is between Zeta and me!"

"But dude, you need my help and…"

"This battle has been a long time coming. Zeta knows it and I know it. The winner takes all!"

"Are you nuts?! You can't do it all by yourself! Sorry Tiger, but I don't care what you say; I'm coming with you and…"

Before Blane could finish what he had to say, Tiger punched him in the belly and knocked him down unconscious. Afterwards the blonde chosen duelist climbed on his creature which once again rushed at Devil Diabolos Zeta, but this time it didn't attack and instead it stopped in front of the mighty psychic creature, putting him and Tiger face to face.

"Alright, I will cease my attacks on you only if you face me in a duel!" Tiger bargained.

"And why would I do that when I could simply crush you?" Devil Diabolos Zeta asked.

"Because that way you'll show the whole universe what a complete pussy you really are! What's the matter? The almighty head of the Zeta can't defeat a poor human in a duel? Seriously, are you really that lame?"

"Fine, I accept your challenge!"

In the next moment Kaizer's golden gladiator armor appeared a few feet away from Tiger and his creature. The chosen duelist saw that its eyes were blue instead of red, so he realized that Leona was right when she told them that Kaizer didn't exist anymore. What was left of him was only a dueling puppet. The armor descended to the road and Jin did the same, his master jumping off him so that he could duel. Jin disappeared and Tiger slid the card in his deck saying:

"We're got one shot at this, so let's give our best, Tora!"

Two dueling tables rose from the ground and the players put their decks on them and set their cards. The shields rose and thus the epic match of Tiger had begun.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it!" Tiger said and put the top card of his deck to the mana zone.

"I also summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie." the voice of Devil Diabolos Zeta came out of the gladiator armor.

"What?! So you can talk, huh?"

"Foolish human, I can speak through this armor to you. That way you will know what hit you once I'm through with you. I destroy Jasmine and gain another mana."

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we? I summon Iron Arm Tribe and get another mana!"

"I assure you human; this is one battle you will never forget! I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!"

Tiger revealed the cards from his hand which were Great Hercules, Giant Insect and Silver Shovel. Devil Diabolos Zeta chose to discard Great Hercules.

"Tsh, I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole!" Tiger said and the top card of his deck went to his mana zone. "With its effect I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone! Go, Victorious Gaial Kaiser, destroy Jenny!"

The red armored dragon flew towards the small white haired puppet that was holding a razor and swung its flame swords, slashing it into tiny bits.

"Cheap move, I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said.

"Well then I summon Mykee's Pliers which makes all of my Nature creatures speed attackers!" Tiger said and put the fire card in his battle zone.

"I summon Skysword, the Savage Vizier. By its effect I get one more mana and one more shield. Also, Hustle Castle lets me draw a card. I end."

"Then I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, destroy Skysword and put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A blue metallic dragon with a fire horn on its forehead and holding a sword of fire in its tail appeared behind Tiger and roared at Devil Diabolos Zeta.

"I cast Hyperspatial Romanoff Hole, now you must choose one of your creatures and destroy them." Devil Diabolos Zeta explained.

"I choose Iron Arm Tribe." Tiger replied and the green horse like warrior exploded and its card landed in his mana zone.

"Then I put Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler in the battle zone! Next turn I will awaken myself and then you and your creatures are all doomed!"

As much as Tiger hated it, his opponent was right. Next turn Devil Diabolos Zeta would indeed awaken himself and when he would attack not only would he wipe down four of his shields, but he would also guarantee the destruction of one of his Fire creatures, Water creatures, Nature creatures, Light creatures and Darkness creatures. And the worst part was that if that was the case, Zeta would choose Victorious Meteor Kaiser as the Water creature, Victorious Gaial Kaiser as the Darkness creature, Mykee's Pliers as the Fire creature and whatever creature Tiger drew and summoned as the Nature creature most certainly. It seemed that all hope was lost for him. But then all of a sudden Tiger felt a pulsating green wave come out of his deck. He then saw his hand glow with a bright green aura and he realized that destiny was indeed on his side and would help him in that battle. He drew his next card, stared at it for a moment and then he turned to his opponent and declared the following:

"Devil Diabolos Zeta, you're finished!"

The creature was a little surprised of his opponent's change of attitude. But then the surprise would turn into a huge shock as he saw Tiger tap six mana cards and put a Nature creature in the battle zone which he quickly tapped and destroyed saying:

"I summon Dimension Horn, the Temporal Foundation and since Mykee's Pliers makes all of my Nature creatures speed attackers, I use its tap ability and destroy it. Then I may put up to two Nature creatures with a total cost equal or less then the cards in my mana zone. I have seven mana now and I choose to put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone! Now Victory Psychic Link!"

A purple haired princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared in the battle zone and cast a white aura upon the blue and the red dragons, uniting with the two and turning into a giant winged dragon that shined with all colors, gold being the predominant and that was wielding a sword with its tail.

"What is that thing?!" Devil Diabolos Zeta asked with shock.

"Your worst nightmare! Meet Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory!" Tiger declared and the dragon roared loudly and made Devil Diabolos Zeta shiver for the first time in his life. "He's a 26000 powered world breaker that when he wins a battle, he untaps and two of your shields are broken!"

"So this means that if I block him it will be useless…"

"Exactly! So let's go, Gaial Ore Dragon, we've got a day to save!"

Tiger jumped on the dragon's back and then the creature took off towards his enemy. Gaial Ore Dragon flew through all five shields and then it went back to the chosen duelist's dueling table. Kaizer's armor took the five shields to its hand and Zeta was shocked to see that the cards were Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Hyperspatial Guard Hole, Hustle Castle, Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia and Bega, Vizier of Shadow. Not a single shield trigger to save him! The creature looked once again at his opponent and he saw Tiger sitting victoriously on Gaial Ore Dragon. Smirking, Tiger gave his farewell words to his opponent:

"It's back to slumber for you, freak! Gaial Ore Dragon, todomeda!"

The dragon created a huge laser ball in its mouth and in just a matter of seconds the ball was cast upon the defenseless Devil Diabolos Zeta. The creature yelled in pain as he received the full blast and in a matter of seconds a huge explosion occurred. That was when Gaial Ore Dragon disappeared and Tiger landed on the ground. Sighting, he packed his cards and whispered:

"At long last it is over."

But little did he know that when the explosion took place the armor of Kaizer was thrown all the way back to the temple. But those who did notice the armor were Alwyn and Alien who were flying away from the city in shame of their defeat. Once they caught a glimpse of their master's armor, Alien immediately increased the UFO's speed and went after it.

Meanwhile at the temple, Subaru was sitting at the opened gates still admiring the night sky. His mind was at the important people that he had met in his life. Starting from his loving mother, his mean father, his even meaner family, to the lovely Tsugumi who changed his life, the evil Zakira who almost destroyed it, the dark Kokujo whom he admired so much, his best friend Edo with whom he had many moments of fun, the crazy Sora whom he found scary due to her yaoi obsession but still a good friend who always wished for the team to be united, the hotheaded Rad whom he admired for his adventurous and carefree behavior, the evil Rezo who put him and his friends to many hardships, the witch Tabitha who tried her best but still didn't succeed in breaking him and his lover apart but she did manage to kill his friends, the poor Hanna who suffered even greater challenges in life such as having her lover die, developing a huge crush for him, rebelling against her master and struggling to do the right thing, the vengeful Nolan who saw in Subaru and the other chosen duelists not only great friends but also an opportunity to get back at Tigra, the crazy Shubham who viewed him as a rival, and finally the three new chosen duelists, the ambitious Tamma whom he viewed as a little brother, the shy but studious Luna who always wanted to lend a helping hand, the tough but protective Tiger who helped him overcome his depression. He, Subaru, had met so many people, had gone through so many adventures and now there he was, standing back from another adventure, preferring to wait for the fight to be finished instead of taking action. Even he wondered why he chose not to fight but as long as he was there with his best friend Edo it seemed that the whole battle for the world's fate didn't matter anymore to him. Yes, he realized that that was an egoistic choice, but he didn't care. He had cared for the rest of the world and put others before himself so many times. It was high time that he cared for his own needs as well. And so he took out his deck and stared at the top card which was Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, his avatar and a great hero of the Darkness Hunters. Smiling at the card, Subaru spoke to it:

"Heh, I'm sorry Raion, but now I've finally realized that I am no hero. I'm just another selfish human being caught in this wicked circle of life."

But then something shined in the sky. The black haired duelist turned his head up and had the shock of seeing something fall from the sky. He backed down into the temple as a golden gladiator armor landed at its entrance. Subaru immediately recognized it.

"Kaizer, is that you?" he asked.


	52. Building a new future

Tabitha crawled out of a pile of bricks in which she had fallen after her defeat at the hands of Tsugumi. The witch's clothes had small holes, were torn at the edges and she was covered by dust. She looked at the city and saw that the destructions had ceased and that Devil Diabolos Zeta was no more. She also saw that the authorities had come to save those who were still in danger and stop the fires from certain buildings.

"So in the end, everything that we planned was for nothing…" Tabitha sighed.

The witch reached for something in her skirt's pocket and after searching thoroughly she managed to pull out a blue crystal ball. She waved her right hand around it making a small chant until a few images appeared on it. Tabitha analyzed them carefully and in the end she widened her eyes with amazement.

"If that is my future… then I have nothing against it!" she said and put the ball back into her pockets.

Tabitha walked towards the first police rocket she saw parked and there to catch the attention of the policemen she raised her hands in the air and shouted:

"Hey police, it is I, Tabitha Lenox, the one who has helped that monster destroy your city! I wish to surrender!"

Immediately the two policemen grabbed Tabitha and immobilized her. As usual, they gave her the 'whatever you say can and will be used against you' speech at which she tried to fake being scared. In a matter of minutes she found herself with electric handcuffs on in the police vehicle on the way to the jury. But she didn't care, because everything was part of the plan which she had hatched once she saw her future in the crystal ball.

"Chosen duelists don't celebrate too soon, because one day I will return!" Tabitha spoke in her mind as she looked down upon the victorious Tiger who was helping Blane walk on the streets back to the UFO.

Meanwhile as Tiger and Blane were both heading back to the spaceship, the chosen nature duelist was narrating the happenings of his final battle against the monstrous Devil Diabolos Zeta as Blane was listening to him with high interest.

"And then I linked Gaial Ore Dragon before he could awaken himself. What came next was his defeat!" Tiger said.

"Woah, that was quite the match you had there, dude!" Blane replied amazed. "Still, you could've just told me that you wanted to duel him, then you wouldn't have needed to stop me by a punch."

"Sorry but I was quite desperate myself and didn't know what to do anymore."

"I see… You've matured a lot, Tiger, do you know that?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well dude, not only were you strong enough to take down big bad Devil Diabolos Zeta, but you've also learned the true value of a team and that showing respect and care to others is not a weakness. And I thought that we couldn't get anything through that thick cat brain of yours!"

"Blane…"

"Yes, Tiger?"

"Do you want to walk all by yourself to the UFO from this point on?"

"Erm, no thanks but I'd rather have your help."

"Then keep your mouth closed until we get there, got it?" Tiger toughly spoke.

"Got it…" Blane responded and then he thought. "And yet you haven't changed that much, did you, little Tiger?"

Meanwhile at the UFO of the chosen duelists, everyone was cheering their victory. They all saw on the ship's screens how Tiger's Gaial Ore Dragon managed to blast Devil Diabolos Zeta to kingdom come and it was an event that brought great joy to many souls. Robert and Tsugumi hit their glasses of champagne to celebrate, Luna was writing in her cyber diary with the speed of light, Tamma was feasting on a cake that he had found in the kitchen and Leona was silently laughing for herself in a corner while watching them all.

But Nolan preferred to visit Hanna who was resting in the hospital room. He found her lying in her bed and reading a book that Tsugumi borrowed her. Shyly approaching her, the boy began to speak:

"Uh, hi?"

"Oh, hey there, how are you?" Hanna smiled to him.

"Did you hear the good news? Tiger has destroyed Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Nolan exclaimed.

In the next moment Hanna's jaw dropped, the girl being amazed like never before. What followed was a shout of happiness as she got out of the bed and started jumping like a child. That made Nolan blush even more, as he found her even cuter than before.

"Oh my God, I can't believe it!" Hanna finally stopped from jumping.

"Well, believe it." Nolan replied.

"This must be a dream. Please pinch me!"

Hanna grabbed Nolan's right hand and forced him to pinch her left arm.

"You were right, this isn't a dream, but it's too good to be true!"

"I know, Hanna, but this is it, their journey has finally ended." Nolan said and then he looked in his pockets. "Say, would you care if you helped me with something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Hanna asked.

Nolan pulled out a little box which he opened and revealed a necklace with the symbol of the Darkness civilization. Hanna stared at it in admiration.

"I know that you love Zombie Dragons a lot and I've noticed that you had that dragon head necklace, so I thought that this might work as well." Nolan said while blushing even harder than before.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!" Hanna said while taking it in her hands. "Say, want to help me put it on?"

"Me? Uh yeah, sure, I guess?"

Hanna turned her back and then she pulled her hair into a ponytail as the nervous Nolan used his trembling hands to put the gift necklace on her neck. Once he had finished at long last, Nolan sighed in relief.

"Thanks a lot!" Hanna said and then the girl turned to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Uh, you're welcome?" Nolan mumbled while sweating and blushing enormously.

"Now come and let's celebrate with the others!"

"But Hanna, shouldn't you stay in bed?"

"Eh, forget that, we've got a party to catch!"

Before Nolan could say anything else, Hanna grabbed his hand and pulled him with her towards the control room where the others were.

Kaizer's UFO flew above the ocean back on the same route as before. Inside it, a very desperate Alien was piloting it, trying to make it move faster and faster while a confused Alwyn was enjoying the chicken stew that he had just finished.

"Alien, where are we going exactly?" Alwyn asked after taking a spoon filled with his stew.

"Who knows? I am just trying to follow the coordinates of Kaizer-sama." the extraterrestrial replied, not moving its head from the main screen.

"But what if the chosen duelists were right, la? What if there is no more Kaizer-sama?"

"Don't tell me you are actually buying into those lies, Alwyn! Kaizer-sama is alive and well, you have seen him destroying the city, you have seen him fly away. We must find him as the loyal servants that we are to know what his will is!"

"I don't know, but this whole thing seems too strange, ah." Alwyn said and then he took another spoon filled with stew.

"Strange or not, we will follow Kaizer-sama until we cease to exist!" Alien fiercely declared.

But little did anyone know that at the partially destroyed Japanese city, in the pile of cards that used to be the sixth deck which Kaizer had specifically built for Devil Diabolos Zeta, the card of the feared psychic creature shined with a purple aura and got up from the ground. Then the card flew into the sky, heading towards the place where Kaizer's armor was blown.

At the temple, Subaru approached the golden armor only to see that its eyes began to shine with their usual red color. The gladiator got up and looked around to notice the tropical island by the ocean, the starry night sky and when he turned around he also noticed the temple and Subaru who was sitting next to him. The chosen darkness duelist took a defensive position and raised his fists in the air ready for a fight.

"Calm down Subaru, there is no need for you to fight me." Kaizer assured him.

"How can I be certain?" the chosen duelist asked.

"I have been the pawn of my own creator since day one. My mission was to find him only to realize that I had to go back. Now that Devil Diabolos Zeta has been destroyed, I am free once again. And yet, what good does freedom do to me when I lack a purpose?"

"Trust me, Kaizer, sometimes it's better to lack a purpose. Look at me, I am the chosen darkness duelist and my purpose is to save a world that is almost always ungrateful and to serve a megalomaniacal rock."

"Oh? So you dislike being a hero?"

"No, Kaizer, I am not a hero to begin with."

"If you are not a hero, then what are you exactly?"

Subaru gave the armored duelist a deep look and after a small exchange of stares he opened his mouth to answer the question:

"I am nobody. Yet another egoistic human that struggles to pass his condition but always fails. That is what I am. What about you, Kaizer?"

"I am… lost."

Subaru was surprised by those words, but the sincerity with which the demonic being spoke them touched him and for once actually made him feel sorry for Kaizer.

"I see… You know, I thought that I could get the answers that I sought inside this temple, but in the end all I found was that my 'master' has yet another crazy plan cooking up and needs my help once again."

"Your master? Do you mean the Proof?" Kaizer suggested.

"Yes, that useless rock." Subaru nodded.

"If you don't mind, could you take me to the Proof, Subaru?"

"Sure, but I don't think that you can enter the temple since you are not a human."

"Actually, that was only as long as Devil Diabolos Zeta's card was fuelling the temple. Now that he is gone, the protective energies have disappeared and I can also enter."

And so the two entered once again in the gigantic building, going through the halls filled with paintings the depicted the history of the creature world, starting from its creation up to the ascension of the Zeta clan to power, until they finally reached the altar with the five statues where the Proof was glowing with its entire splendor. Once arrived, Kaizer kneeled in front of the Proof much to Subaru's shock and spoke:

"Proof of Duelmaster, I, the unworthy Kaizer, have come to beg of you to answer me a simple request!"

"And what might that be, minion of Devil Diabolos Zeta?" the Proof asked.

"Through my whole life as I was searching for my master, I have always interacted with these beings called humans. If anything, they are the most interesting beings I have ever come in contact with. So if it is not much to ask, I humbly demand that I experience life through the eyes of a human!" Kaizer spoke with humility.

"If that is your wish, then the one that will grant you this is none other than Subaru."

"Me?" the chosen darkness duelist burst.

"Yes, you have experienced many situations that humans are put into. Now you shall show them to Kaizer." the Proof explained.

"Very well, I have nothing against it. My only question is how do we manage to do that?"

Kaizer put his hands on the black haired boy's shoulders and both looked on each other's eyes. Two red beams came from the armored duelist's eyes and entered Subaru, thus establishing a spiritual connection.

In the next moment Kaizer found himself sitting in a hospital room where a black haired woman was lying on a bed. A doctor entered the room holding a crying baby in dark blue sheets and being followed by a black haired man dressed in a grey suit.

"Success, madam, you have a boy!" the doctor said and offered the woman the baby which ceased crying once he found himself in his mother's hands.

"We've done it, darling, the Geki family finally has an heir!" the black haired man spoke. "So, what name shall we give to our little prince?"

"He was born in August, the month of the Leo. He will have a bright future and will lead the humanity into peace and prosperity. I say we call him Subaru, after the Pleiades. This constellation isn't far from the normal eye's reach and every human can admire them in their shiny splendor." the woman answered.

"Then it is settled, his name will be Subaru!" the man concluded.

"Oh, mommy's dear little Subaru, you will grow up to become a true hero for this world, yes you will!" the mother said and then she cuddled her baby which laughed happily.

Kaizer put his right hand on his armor's chest and then he spoke:

"What is this strange warm feeling that I am experiencing?"

"I think it's called affection." Subaru spoke and then he appeared next to the armored duelist.

"You? But how?" Kaizer asked confused.

"Hey, you're seeing my life's experiences; it's only fair that I guide you, right?"

"If you say so… So that little thing in that woman's arms is you?"

"Yes, this is the day I was born. I was brought in this world of suffering to try and bring happiness to few people who actually wanted me. And the feeling that my parents and you are now experiencing is called happiness."

"I see…"

The image then began to change and Kaizer now saw a room filled with toys and a seven year old Subaru with short black hair and dressed in a short white T shirt and short purple tights. The little boy was sitting on the floor surrounded by black cards and he was staring at one which depicted Deathliger, Lion of Chaos with a sad look on his face. A small tear fell down his cheek and landed on the card which in return shined with a purple aura and a small hologram of the demonic lion with blue mane appeared on his shoulder and tried to cuddle the little boy.

"What is going on?" Kaizer asked.

"I was just punished by my father to stay locked in my room because I told the family I had a really big passion for the Darkness civilization. My family in front with my father all despised the Darkness civilization and viewed it as weak, slow and ineffective. I was told to choose another civilization but I refused and thus was punished." Subaru explained.

"Poor child…" Kaizer whispered and tried to put his hand on little Subaru's other shoulder only to have it go through him.

"Don't forget, we are inside my memories. And what you are now feeling inside is known as sadness and you are also feeling pity towards me." Subaru informed him. "Now it is time for us to move on once again."

Once again the image disappeared and then Kaizer found himself in a beautiful garden filled with bushes and exotic plants. In front of him there was a huge mansion whose doors opened and out of which a thirteen year old Subaru was thrown. The boy's black hair had grown a bit longer since he was a child and he was dressed in a black T shirt, a pair of jeans and a jean jacket and he had all of his Darkness cards scattered onto him. His father appeared at the opened mansion doors and he yelled at him:

"Leave and never come back here, you weakling and failure of a son! You have disgraced me in front of the whole family and thus you are not worthy of being a Geki anymore, Subaru!"

With those words being said, the man slammed the doors shut and left the young Subaru lay there in the cold. The boy struggled to pick up his cards all while growling with anger.

"What is going on now?" Kaizer asked.

"At the age of thirteen my father had kicked me out of the house because I decided to duel my cousin Lili with a Darkness deck in my first duel ever. She defeated me with her Beast Folk/Initiate deck and because of that I was humiliated by my father in front of the entire family and kicked out of the house." Subaru narrated.

"That bastard!" Kaizer growled and clenched his fist. "How dare he do that to an innocent child just because he chose to follow his dream?!"

"Don't worry; I was actually happy that I was finally free from that strict family. And now I am also happy that I have gotten you to experience what is called anger and frustration."

And so once again the image shifted and time Kaizer saw the same Subaru wandering in a corn field all by himself tired, thirsty and hungry. The boy fainted when he was approaching a farm and then a blonde peasant girl with blue eyes dressed in white clothes and a long red skirt found him and rushed to his help.

"Hey you, are you alright?!" the girl shook him until he opened his eyes.

Subaru's brown eyes caught the beautiful sight of her blue crystal like eyes. They stared admiring one another for a good portion of time.

"I don't get it, what is going on here?" Kaizer asked.

"I think it is best if you experienced exactly what I've felt here!" Subaru replied and then he pushed the gladiator into his past self.

All of a sudden, Kaizer felt the pulsating beats of a heart that were moving faster and faster. He also felt this strange emotion that was highly strong and that resonated throughout his entire body.

"What is this that I am feeling?" Kaizer asked.

"It's called love and it is the one human emotion that probably influences us the most." Subaru said. "Love makes you happy, love makes you sad, loves makes your life have meaning but it can also make you suffer a lot. Many people have died because of love. This emotion has a huge impact upon us humans."

"If that is true, then have you suffered from this feeling you called love?"

"Look and see!"

The image shifted once again and Kaizer had the shock of seeing Subaru lying defeated on the floor and Tsugumi being sacrificed in a ritual by Zakira to turn her into a new Proof of Duelmaster. The gladiator saw the desperate expressions on the faces of both lovers and couldn't help panic.

"What is going on here? What is happening to her?" Kaizer asked.

"That blue skinned bastard called Zakira is sacrificing her to become the new Proof. I tried my best to stop him but in the end I lost and had to watch my sweet Tsugumi turn into a blue gem." Subaru explained. "But wait, there is much more! Zakira later brought her back to life and made her think that it was all my fault for not being able to protect her. He amplified her anger towards me and used her as a weapon to destroy me as I was helping Kokujo in finding him."

"That monster!" Kaizer growled even louder.

"If you think that is something, you should see how Rezo the Red Priest kidnapped Tsugumi and then he had her raped and killed. When I reached his castle, he threw her dead body to me."

"How could you be so calm in explaining all of this to me? Aren't you a human? Shouldn't you also feel those emotions?"

"Yes, you are perfectly right Kaizer, but the reason I am not feeling sadness, anger, despair or frustration is because I know the positive side of love too."

"The positive side of love?"

Once again the images changed and Kaizer saw Subaru and Tsugumi sitting together hugged under the full moon at the old farm. He also saw them kissing each other in their room aboard the UFO of the chosen duelists and their romantic dinner at their old mansion. Every precious moment that the two lovers shared appeared in front of his eyes.

"The reason we human beings find a person to love is because that person offers us something that we are seeking, and usually that something is the affection that we need in our lives. In return we also respond with affection and enjoy beautiful emotional experiences. Together we become one and we both feel accomplished." Subaru said.

"I think I now understand. So in the end, what you humans fight for the most is not survival or egoistic ambitions. It is love, isn't it?" Kaizer asked and Subaru shook his head.

"No, we humans have different things for which we fight. Some fight for survival, some fight just to have fun, some fight to achieve their goals, some being beneficial for others but others being only for their own benefit and some fight to achieve the love their hearts seek. But now that I look once again at my species, I see now that our one true goal is none of these. No. Humanity's true goal is determined by the limited time that we have to live. We desire to either become immortal, but most of us have accepted our mortality and just wish that through our actions we are remembered by others once we die. Yes, that is why a villain does bad deeds and a hero fights to stop him, it is because both desire to enter the history books."

"I thought that being immortal was an important issue, but yet I see that your mortality is bringing much more color and meaning to your lives."

"Indeed it has, Kaizer. Yes we may be weak, yes we may be limited, but what define us are the actions that we make. And now, thanks to you, I have managed to come to my own conclusion on humanity."

"Is that so? Then what have you realized, Subaru?"

"We are not perfect beings and me setting standards for my race is a wrong thing to do. There will always be good people and bad people. This is the nature of things. We all have the path which we have to walk. I was chosen to become a hero, accepted it and I have endured the consequences. Now I realize that I shouldn't have quitted back then or argued with the Proof, because this simply is just a part of my job as a chosen duelist."

"I see. So Subaru, to conclude this, what would be your definition of a human?"

"A human is… a being with a limited body and a limited time that tries its best to surpass its own limits and prove something to the world."

With those words being said, the illusion disappeared and both Kaizer and Subaru woke up back at the altar. The golden armored gladiator kneeled in front of the black haired teenager and respectfully spoke:

"I thank you, Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist, for showing me what it is like to be a human. Not even a million thanks would be sufficient to show my gratitude!"

"There's no need for you to do that. I just did what had to be done." Subaru modestly replied.

"You have granted me a wish and in return I will also grant you one! While in your mind I have sensed that you also feel a great pain. This pain is due to someone dear that you have lost." Kaizer affirmed.

"Yes, that's true..."

"So to show my gratitude, I will heal what has been damaged."

Kaizer walked to the statue of Crystal Zweilancer on which the paralyzed Edo was lying. The golden armored duelist put his hand on his head and the brown haired boy's body got surrounded by a bright white aura for a few moments. When Kaizer took it off, Edo fell with his cheek on the floor and stretched his arms and legs revealing that he was tired. Afterwards he began to snore. Subaru watched the whole act with amazement. Kaizer then turned to the black haired boy and said:

"He is now healed. The one you know as Edo Kanda is no longer paralyzed."

"Kaizer, I really don't know what to say…" Subaru mumbled. "I mean…"

But just then they all felt a strange presence enter the building. Subaru and Kaizer turned their backs and they saw that card of Devil Diabolos Zeta surrounded by a purple aura approach them both.

"Oh no, it looks like we've got trouble…" Subaru commented.

"It can't be, you were destroyed!" Kaizer exclaimed.

"Only physically, my spirit remains tied to this card." Devil Diabolos Zeta replied. "And now I have returned to the temple to take what is rightfully mine!"

"And what might that be?" Subaru asked.

"Kaizer, who is part of me, and the Proof, whose power is destined to be mine like the stained glass clearly depicts!" the creature ambitiously said.

"Sorry, Zeta, but you've got to go through me first if you want to get your hands on my master and on my friend!" Subaru declared.

"Friend? I am your friend?" Kaizer asked.

"Yes, and we friends have to help each other, so stand back Kaizer as I take care of this freak!" Subaru continued and then he pulled out his deck.

"Enough with this nonsense!" Devil Diabolos Zeta shouted.

The card then rushed towards Subaru with the intention of hurting him but Kaizer pushed the black haired boy out of the way and it entered his armor. The gladiator then yelled loudly as his eyes once again turned from red to blue.

"Oh no, Kaizer!" Subaru panicked.

"It's too late now, he is becoming Devil Diabolos Zeta." the Proof informed him.

A diabolical laughter came out of the gladiator armor as it began to admire its hands.

"Hahaha, this new body is perfect! Now with it I can resume my conquest!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and then he turned to the Proof. "As for you, your power shall be mine!"

Before the creature could even touch it, the gem flew away and landed in the pockets of Subaru's jeans. Devil Diabolos Zeta turned to the chosen duelist who held his deck out, both the stack of cards and his right hand shining with bright purple auras.

"I'm sorry, pal, but as I said before: if you want to get your hands on the Proof you will have to go through me first!" Subaru declared.

"Then so be it! May this be our final battle!" Devil Diabolos Zeta replied and then he created a brand new deck in the armor's right hand.

Two dueling tables rose from the floor and both players put their decks on them. Then they both drew five cards and set five shields which materialized as blue rectangles.

"Duel start!" they both shouted and announced the beginning of their match.

Subaru was the first who began by charging mana with Aqua Surfer. Then Devil Diabolos Zeta charged mana with Hyperspatial Guard Hole. Now the black haired boy's turn came once again and he put Hades Death Gate into his mana zone, tapped both cards and showed a rainbow card that belonged to the Water and Darkness civilizations to his opponent saying:

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!"

A black haired young man dressed in a dark blue suit with a red tie and having a black cape on which he had a sticky note appeared next to the chosen darkness duelist.

"Oh, you're having a rematch against Devil Diabolos Zeta?" Atsuto asked.

"Yes, and I need every shred of luck I can get because this whole world is counting on me!" Subaru replied.

"Then let me fabulously help you!"

Atsuto drew two cards for Subaru and then he selected Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger from his hand which he discarded.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and a small green haired faerie dressed in a brown dress appeared by his side and exploded, thus granting him another card in the mana zone.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and tossed Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in his graveyard.

"I summon Sol Habaki, Apocalyptic Sage and by its effect I put Rose Castle in my mana zone and take Hyperspatial Guard Hole back to my hand. Afterwards I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to my mana zone!"

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew a card and discarded a Miracle Re Born.

"I fortify one of my shields with Hustle Castle!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and then one of his shields got the image of the Nature card.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi!" Subaru said and a fire bird with green sunglasses on its forehead appeared by his side and chirped.

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone! Afterwards I draw thanks to Hustle Castle. Then I cast Leaf Storm Trap and by its effect I send my Bronze-Arm Tribe and your Super Go On Pippi to our mana zones!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and then he watched how his green horse like warrior and Subaru's fire bird got enveloped by green auras and disappeared.

"My turn, I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress!" Subaru said and one of his shields got the image of the Fire card.

"Your time has come, chosen darkness duelist! I cast Hyperspatial Guard Hole and send Deepsea Typhoon to your shields!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and then the black turtle with blue spines on its back disappeared and Subaru gained a sixth shield. "Afterwards I put Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler into the battle zone! Let's see you try to defeat me in my Temporal form, human! I cannot be touched by creature effects which render most of your cards useless, hahaha!"

"Creature effects? That's it!" Subaru said and then his hand glowed with purple kaijudo energy as he drew his next card.

"Huh? Just what do you think you're up to, you mindless human?" Devil Diabolos Zeta asked.

"Oh nothing, just preparing your downfall! I summon Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Subaru said and then a horned purple knight with a yellow X scar on his chest appeared in the battle zone and roared. "With Zero Romanoff's effect I put Hades Death Gate in the graveyard. And since Galaxy Falcon makes all of my Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Hades Death Gate which will destroy Diabolos Zeta!"

"No, this cannot be happening!" Devil Diabolos Zeta yelled with shock as he saw his card being bounced off the battle zone and land back in the hyperspatial zone.

"But wait, there's more! With Hades Death Gate's effect I revive another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff from the graveyard which in turn puts a third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff from my deck into the grave!" Subaru said and a second purple knight appeared by his side. "Now go, my first Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The knight aimed his yellow laser guns at the five shields and with two blasts he took out two of them.

"Then I attack with my second Zero Romanoff; cast Miracle Re Born to revive a third Zero Romanoff who will put another Miracle Re Born into my graveyard! Go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!" Subaru ordered and after the third knight appeared, the second one blasted two more of Devil Diabolos Zeta's shields with its guns. "Now I attack with my third Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born to revive Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon!" Subaru said and a red dragon dressed in samurai armor, with a flaming X scar on his chest and wielding a white sword in his right hand appeared in the battle zone and roared. "Go, Zero Romanoff, break his last shield!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Zero Romanoff!" Devil Diabolos Zeta stalled.

"Then I attack with Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, break his final shield!" Subaru ordered and the dragon jumped at the golden armor and slashed off its last shield with his sword. "Then I untap Sword Flash Dragon! Prepare to meet your end, Zeta! Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, finish him off, todomeda!"

"Not so fast, Ninja Strike 7, I summon Zerokage, Lightfang Lord and block Sword Flash Dragon!" Devil Diabolos Zeta stalled for more time.

"Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and Atsuto rushed at the armor to make a kung fu attack on it.

"Ninja Strike 7, I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 power to your creature!" Devil Diabolos Zeta said and then a purple demonic frog appeared and hit Atsuto with its giant tongue, making him disappear. "And now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Guard Hole and send Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon to your shields!"

The red dragon roared as it got surrounded by a yellow aura and disappeared, Subaru gaining a seventh shield.

"Then I put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone and destroy one of your Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Devil Diabolos Zeta continued and a golden demon riding a skeletal horse and wielding two blue scythes appeared in the battle zone and slashed into pieces one of the three purple knights.

"My turn, I cast Emergency Typhoon!" Subaru said and then he drew two cards and discarded Aqua Naruto Surfer. "Then I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue bipedal lion that was wielding two large blue swords and which had two orange horns that were positioned as a V in his forehead and appeared in the battle zone and slashed Devil Diabolos Zeta's creature.

"Then I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and revive Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Subaru said and then a blue surfer with the head of a shark, two yellow wings and blades instead of arms appeared in the battle zone by Subaru's side. "With its effect I send… both my Zero Romanoff back to my hand!"

"What? Why would you do that?" Devil Diabolos Zeta asked and watched how the Water Hunter hit both knights with its blades and made them disappear.

"So I can prove to you the power of friendship! With my avatar and that of my dear friend Edo-kun, I will bring back peace upon the world!" Subaru declared and then he tapped both his Liger Blade and Aqua Naruto Surfer cards. "Raion and Snipy, todomeda!"

The two Hunters attacked the gladiator with their blades and Devil Diabolos Zeta was blown against a wall and landed defeated on the floor, thus sealing the victory of Subaru. Liger Blade and Aqua Naruto Surfer then turned at their master and smiled down at him.

"Thanks for the help guys; I couldn't have done it without you and Zero Romanoff!" Subaru showed his gratitude towards the creatures.

"We are proud to have fought alongside you, master." Liger Blade replied and then Aqua Naruto Surfer screeched. "He says the same."

And so the two creatures disappeared and went back into their cards. That was when the Proof shined with an even brighter blue light and it flew above the five statues from the altar.

"It is time to begin the ceremony that will end the evil of the Zeta once and for all!" the Proof announced.

Upon hearing this, Devil Diabolos Zeta opened his eyes and the gladiator armor forced itself up and began to slowly walk away outside of the altar.

"No, this cannot happen now! Subaru, you must stop him from escaping or else the ritual will fail!" the Proof said.

"But what exactly is this ritual?" the black haired chosen duelist asked.

"This ritual will seal Zeta into a new gem and will revert his evil back into good, thus granting that gem the powers of the creature world and so we will create a brand new Proof!" the blue gem explained.

Upon hearing this, Subaru rushed to the Crystal Zweilancer statue and pulled his friend Edo out of the altar. Afterwards he returned into it and blocked Devil Diabolos Zeta's path so that he couldn't escape. He then pushed the weakened creature back into the middle of the altar and held him there so he wouldn't escape.

In the meantime, the two UFOs landed on the island and out of them came Alien, Alwyn, the other four chosen duelists, Leona, Blane, Robert, Nolan and Hanna and all of them rushed to the temple out of which they saw bright lights coming. When they entered it they had the shock of seeing Edo lying on the floor and Subaru struggling to keep the golden gladiator in the circle as the Proof's light was falling upon the whole altar.

"What's going on here?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, why is brother Subaru fighting with Kaizer at this time?" Tamma asked.

"Maybe he is… Oh no, Subaru you idiot, get out of there!" Tiger shouted and then he turned to Tsugumi. "That idiot is trying to prevent Kaizer from escaping the Proof's plan of destroying him, but he doesn't realize that he will be destroyed too!"

"Oh no! Subaru, leave Kaizer alone and get out of there!" Tsugumi shouted as well.

"No, Tsugumi, I am not leaving, I have to see this to the end!" Subaru declared.

"But you'll never survive!" the girl cried.

"Everyone, I have to thank you for everything that you have taught me. You have all been great friends and you have all supported me on this long and exhausting journey, but now it is time that I finally gave up on my selfishness and helped you all!" Subaru confessed to everyone present there. "Thank you all, I couldn't have asked for better people to work with."

But then all of a sudden, the armor's eyes turned from blue the red, meaning that Kaizer had managed to regain control of his body.

"Curse you, Subaru! Out of my way!" Kaizer ordered and threw Subaru out of the altar. "I know your intentions are good, chosen duelist, but this is something I have to do on my own!"

"Kaizer…" Subaru murmured surprised.

"Well, it's been fun while it lasted." the armored duelist sighed. "With this I bear you good bye, my friend."

Kaizer turned his back to everyone and then he looked up at the Proof which was about to begin the ritual and then and there he gave his final speech:

"Oh, and Devil Diabolos Zeta, just for your information, even though you are within me you will never possess me! For I am… THE MIGHTY KAIZER!"

Right in that moment the Proof fired five beams upon the five statues of the leaders of the civilizations and each and every one of those statues fired a beam that had the color of its respective civilization upon Kaizer. The armored duelist took the full blows of all five beams and then an explosion occurred.

When the smoke faded away, everyone saw a new gem shining with the five colors of the five civilizations in the middle of the altar. The blue Proof descended from the ceiling and stood by the other gem's side.

"Rejoice, my chosen duelists, the time of peace that you have desired has finally come!" the Proof announced them.

Everyone then burst into cheers and hugged each other. It was finally over; they had finally defeated the evil of Devil Diabolos Zeta. But while the heroes were all cheering, Alwyn and Alien walked out of the temple depressed.

"Well now what are we supposed to do, la?" Alwyn asked.

"Take your stuff out of my spaceship!" Alien ordered.

"Alright, whatever you say, ah."

After a few minutes Alwyn walked out of the UFO with two bags filled with his stuff. He then turned to the extraterrestrial to exchange final looks.

"So what are you going to do now?" Alwyn asked.

"I am going to follow Kaizer-sama… in the grave!" Alien declared.

The UFO's door closed and the spaceship took off into the sky but once it was far enough from the island it blew up in the night, Alwyn witnessing the whole scene and saying:

"That thing never was too bright…"

At the temple as everyone was enjoying their victory, Nolan and Hanna went out for a little romantic walk on the island and Robert went back to the UFO to inform Hakuoh about the great news. As for Leona, the girl wiped the dust off her short golden dress and walked out of the temple as well, but then the voice of Blane stopped her.

"Hey, where are you going to now?"

"I don't know. But wherever I may be going, you should expect to see me again pretty soon!" Leona replied.

"So this means that you'll return to your killing ways?" Blane asked.

"I don't think I'll be able to find thrill in that anymore. Not after the thrill that you guys have offered me with this final battle against Devil Diabolos Zeta!" Leona smiled at him. "Thanks for the fun and see you soon!"

"Heh, see you soon, proud Lioness." Blane spoke to himself as he watched the girl climb down the stairs.

But as she walked off of the stairs, Leona noticed a teenager with black hair that was long on the left side and short on the right side, that was dressed in a long red jacket and that also wore a red headband. He was sitting with his arms crossed and looking at the temple with his red eyes.

"Nice to see that you've made it alive as well, Shubham." Leona said and then she walked away.

Back at the temple, the five chosen duelists were still rejoicing their victory, Blane sitting in a corner and watching them.

"Well it looks like we've made it back safe and sound!" Luna said.

"Victory feels good!" Tamma stretched his hands.

"I say that's because we all gave our best and fought as a team!" Tsugumi suggested.

"Well Subaru, it looks like it's all over." Tiger said.

"No, we're looking at a brand new future, Tiger." Subaru replied while staring at the altar at the two gems. "This is just the beginning of a new adventure."

And so the chosen duelists took Edo back into their UFO and he woke up on the way. Subaru and Tsugumi greeted their old friend with lots of emotion while the other three were all excited to meet their new friend. Once they got back in the spaceship, they contacted Hakuoh and since Robert told him about everything that happened, the blonde teacher decided that he would personally come at the island to see the temple and he also revealed his intentions of creating a new Temple of Duel Masters with the two Proofs as its power source. In order for that to happen, they needed to gather people that could help them renovate the old temple so that they could rebuild the duelist training organization that was once in the past, only this time bigger than before. That was Hakuoh's dream, and the chosen duelists agreed to help him with it. But for that night they decided to just rest on their laurels.

And so the sunrise came and Subaru and Edo were sitting at the other side of the hill watching the sun rise from behind the temple. The wind was blowing, making their hair messy and relaxing them with its breeze in the same time. The two friends sat there in silence only admiring the beauty of the moment.

"So Edo-kun, it looks like we did it." Subaru broke the silence but received no answer. "Come on, say something."

"You know Suby, the guys that are now my team, I couldn't have asked for better pals!" Edo finally spoke and then he turned to the black haired boy. "And you will always have a special place in my heart!"

Upon hearing those words from his dear friend, Subaru smiled, for the first time after many months revealing a smile of true happiness. Then both turned back to admire the sunrise and the black haired boy said:

"Check it out, Edo-kun, that's our future out there."


	53. Lurking in the Shadows

Sometime, somewhere, in a dark apartment, someone was lying on a chair sitting by a table and watching TV. On the screen four teenagers and a child were seen. The child had spiky red hair that resembled a flame and green eyes and he wore a white martial arts kimono, as for the teenagers, there were two boys and two girls. One of the girls had blue eyes, blue hair and was wearing glasses, a yellow shirt and a blue skirt. The other was blonde, had crystal blue eyes and was wearing a red dress. One of the boys had yellow eyes, was blonde and was wearing a green hat, a black T shirt covered by a green jacket with the symbols of the Nature civilization on and white pants. As for the other boy, he had a black mane on his head, had brown eyes and wore a pair of jeans and a black T shirt with the symbol of the Darkness civilization on it. They were the five chosen duelists: Tamma, Luna, Tsugumi, Tiger and Subaru. The video showed them returning triumphantly from their latest victory against their foes Kaizer and Devil Diabolos Zeta. The person stopped the video and then it got up from the chair and left the room. Later it returned dressed in a black robe with a hood covering their head and a red marker in one of their black gloved hands. The black clothed figure quickly wrote a message with the marker on the screen which showed the five chosen duelists. It said: 'You will all die!'

Six months had passed since the chosen duelists had defeated Devil Diabolos Zeta and Kaizer sacrificed himself. During that winter and spring, Tamma, Luna and Tiger once again returned to school to resume their studies. Subaru and Tsugumi worked with Hakuoh to transform the temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta from the lone island in the Pacific turn into a new temple of Duel Masters. Blane stood by the side of the two chosen duelists, guarding them as it was his duty. Nolan and Hanna managed to develop a really close friendship but the relationship couldn't advance any further as he and Robert had to return to their mission of searching for Tigra and the blue haired girl also decided to return to her wandering. There was also no sign from the three surviving minions of Kaizer: Leona, Shubham and Alwyn during those months. As for the healed former chosen water duelist, Edo was greeted with happiness by his old friends Subaru and Tsugumi and was put up to date with everything that had happened since Tabitha put him in coma. And much to everyone's shock, Edo agreed to share the chosen water duelist place with Luna. While everyone was happy with the decision, the Proof wasn't, not because of the fact that chaos might have appeared in the Water civilization. Actually, all of the creatures from the Water civilization were happy that they had two duelists to represent them. However Subaru also noticed that there was no problem with Edo's return and thus he reminded the Proof about it not taking any action when Rad and Sora died. Oh, how the gem wished it had legs to run, for the rage of Subaru was something nobody would want to face.

Summer had finally returned upon the lands of the northern hemisphere. Due to his business with the reconstruction of the temple, Hakuoh canceled the summer program of his school much to Luna's disappointment. Now at his request, the chosen duelists had to come with him to the island and help him, but only Tamma appeared as available since Luna was stuck with her research and Tiger was nowhere to be found. But that didn't matter anymore. The evil was gone, good had triumphed yet again and peace was mostly restored. That meant that the chosen duelists could take it easier than usual with their duty.

The ocean's breeze struck the peaceful tropical island from the Pacific on which the temple was lying. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing. Even though they were on a mission, it felt more like a vacation to them. While Hakuoh and Tsugumi were inside the temple discussing problems, Tamma took the liberty of facing Edo in a duel on the beach with Subaru sitting next by watching them and Blane hiding in the bushes guarding them.

"Alright, let's do this, I summon Jooni Moririya!" Tamma said and then a tall muscular horned red skinned humanoid appeared behind him.

"Hehe, I haven't done this in some time, but let's see if I'm still good at it…" Edo commented and then he put a Water card on his table. "I summon Aqua Hammer Price!"

A blue humanoid made of water holding a book in his left hand and a hammer in his right hand appeared behind Edo. The brown haired chosen duelist smiled to it and then he turned to his fellow companions and cheered:

"Yay, I can still kaijudo duel after all this time! Look at me, Suby, I can still do it!"

"That's nice, Edo-kun." Subaru made a few fake applauses for his friend.

"Don't know what's so special, but oh well, my turn!" Tamma announced. "I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre!"

A red armored samurai boy wearing green sunglasses and wielding a katana sword appeared by Tamma's side.

"I summon Aqua Sonicwave!" Edo said and then a blue water humanoid with missiles for arms appeared by his side and fired one of them upon Tamma's muscular red humanoid. "Send Jooni Moririya back to his hand!"

"Heh…" Tamma murmured as he took the Darkness card to his hand.

"Aqua Hammer Price, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" Edo said and then both players revealed the top cards of their decks, he having Hyperspatial Killer Glasses Hole and Tamma having Genji Boy. "Cool, looks like I won! Aqua Hammer Price lets me draw a card and now I break your shield!"

The creature made a jump and headed towards Tamma and then he used his hammer to break one of his shields. However when the little red haired boy got the card in his hand, he gave a sly smile to his opponent and spoke:

"You should've bounced Straight instead! Now since he makes all my evolution Human creatures cost two mana less, I can do this!"

Tamma's hand glowed with a bright red aura as he raised it in the air and placed a Fire card upon his multicolored one.

"I evolve Straight, Fighting Ogre into Ogre Beater, Last Attack!"

A giant red armored humanoid with two giant black cannons on his hands and a white X scar on his chest appeared behind Tamma and roared loudly at Edo. The chosen fire duelist tapped his card and continued:

"I attack with Ogre Beater and by its effect I destroy Aqua Hammer Price and Aqua Sonicwave!"

Ogre Beater flew towards Edo's side of the battle zone and crushed both his blue liquid humanoids with his giant fists. Afterwards he aimed his cannons at his shields and blasted two of them. When the attack was over and the smoke cleared, everyone saw Edo happily laugh.

"Hahaha, so awesome! I missed kaijudo dueling so much!" Edo confessed.

"And I thought I was crazy." Tamma commented while sweating. "It's your turn!"

"Alrighty, I summon Aqua Librarian!" Edo said and then a dark blue humanoid made of water which was surrounded by a circle of floating brown books appeared by his side. "Hey Suby, you're in trouble!"

"Huh? What do you mean, Edo-kun?" Subaru asked confused.

"When is the last time you returned the books to the library, mister?" Edo asked back with an authoritarian voice trying to scare the chosen darkness duelist.

"Erm, all my books are bought from stores." the black haired teen replied.

"Oh, didn't know that." the brown haired teen said looking dumb.

"Anyway, I summon Jooni Moririya and attack with Ogre Beater, double break his shields!" Tamma ordered and the red armored creature did its cannon attack once again upon two of Edo's shields, however this time a blue light came from one of them and a blue surfer seared through the air and made the attacker disappear.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and bounce Ogre Beater back! My turn, I summon Aqua Intern and Aqua Sonicwave! Sonicwave sends Jooni Morriya back to your hand." Edo announced and Tamma took the Darkness card to his hand. "Go, Aqua Librarian and Aqua Surfer, break his shields!"

Tamma took cover as the two Liquid People creatures rushed through two of his shields. But when the attack was over and he got the two cards in his hand, the red haired kid showed a Fire spell to his opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Aqua Intern and Aqua Sonicwave!"

A pink chainsaw appeared out of nowhere and cut into half the two water humanoids.

"D'aw, what a bummer!" Edo commented with disappointment.

"I summon Jooni Moririya and Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and his two armored humanoids appeared in the battle zone shouting war cries.

"Time to make my hand full again!" Edo replied with excitement. "I cast Streaming Shaper!"

The brown haired teen revealed the top four cards of his deck which were Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Aqua Super Emeral, Aqua Surfer and Brain Storm. Since all were Water cards, all went to his hand.

"Then I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace my last shield with a card from my hand." Edo continued. "And now… I end."

Tamma was surprised that Edo did not attack. Instead of quickly drawing his next card and beginning his turn, the little boy did something rare for him – he looked at his opponent's table and analyzed the situation.

"Hm, that card from his shield is most likely Aqua Surfer. He also has Aqua Librarian, Aqua Super Emeral and another Aqua Surfer ready to break down my last two shields. If I summon Ogre Beater and I attack his last shield now, I can get rid of that Aqua Surfer or Aqua Super Emeral from the battle zone, but then I'll trigger the Surfer from his shields and he'll bounce Vorg. But what else can I do? I only have Ogre Beater, Reckless Cut Scrapper and Terror Pit. Hm, maybe I should cast Terror Pit and get rid of a creature without having him get that Surfer from his shields. No, then he'll use those spells from his hand and get out some mean psychics. Oh, I can't stand it anymore!"

Getting desperate, Tamma quickly placed his Ogre Beater, Last Attack card upon his Jooni Moririya card and the giant red armored humanoid appeared once again in the battle zone. Tamma tapped the card and ordered:

"Ogre Beater, attack, destroy Aqua Super Emeral and break his final shield!"

The creature aimed one of its cannons and blew off Edo's blue surfer. Then with the other cannon it blasted his final shield to pieces. The shield shards surrounded Edo and them a wind blew as he smiled confidently. The shards slowly united into a blue card which shined brightly.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer!" Edo exclaimed and the blue surfer returned. "Send Vorg back to his hand!"

Aqua Surfer seared through the air and when he reached Tamma's part of the battle zone he hit the horned black armored humanoid with the surfboard and made it disappear.

"I knew it." Tamma sighed.

"It was fun dueling with you Tamma, but now it's time for you to go!" Edo replied. "I evolve Aqua Surfer into Crystal Super Paladin!"

One of the two blue surfers got surrounded by a blue aura and morphed into a giant centaur made of blue crystal that was wielding two swords and two shields with its four hands.

"Go, Crystal Super Paladin, break his final shields!" Edo ordered and the centaur galloped towards Tamma and used its swords to slash off his last two shields.

"Shield trigger, I summon Moel, Lovely Ogre Sniper and destroy Aqua Librarian!" Tamma said and a red haired girl dressed in a pink dress appeared in the battle zone riding a black war machine and used its cannons to destroy Edo's water librarian.

"Aqua Surfer, todomeda!"

The creature nodded its head and flew towards Tamma hitting him with the surfboard and blowing him a few feet away. With the finishing blow being delivered, the duel was over.

Later that day Subaru and Edo were standing at the beach from the other side of the island so that they could admire the sunset with the temple behind them. For a few moments they did not speak a word to each other and simply stared at the sun that was disappearing under the ocean, slowly turning the crimson red sky into a dark blue horizon painted with stars. Finally Edo was the one who broke the silence between them:

"Nice sight, eh Suby?"

"Yes, it's truly beautiful, Edo-kun." Subaru answered. "You've evolved your playing style over the past months, that duel showcased it perfectly!"

"Yeah, Luna was so nice as to help me build this new deck!" Edo said while pulling his deck out of his pocket. "She's a really nice girl, you know?"

"Yeah, she is truly a gold mine." Subaru agreed with his friend and for a moment silence had fallen upon them once again.

"Say, is there something you wanted to tell me?" Edo asked and noticed his friend slightly panic. "Oh, don't worry, if I owe you anything, I promise I'll give it to you on the double!"

"No, it's not that, Edo-kun." Subaru shook his head. "On the contrary, it is I the one who has to restore something to you!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

The black haired duelist searched in his jeans' pockets and finally managed to pull two cards out of one of them. He placed his hand in the air offering them to his friend saying:

"These are your two Aqua Naruto Surfers. I know you lent me only one, but I took the freedom of borrowing your other one for my deck. I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission."

Edo was speechless at the sight of the two Water cards. Then all of a sudden a blue creature with yellow wings, blades for arms, a shark like head and which was riding a surfboard appeared above the two as a hologram.

"Oh look, it's Snipy!" Edo exclaimed upon seeing his avatar.

The Naruto Surfer screeched with happiness upon seeing its former master. Afterwards the creature turned to Subaru and stared at him with a saddened look. During the last months the two had managed to form a bond and now it was time for them to part ways.

"I'll miss you too, Snipy." Subaru confessed and the creature moaned with sorrow. "I know, Snipy, I know, but you have to return to Edo-kun, he's your rightful master, not me."

Aqua Naruto Surfer leaned to Subaru and materialized for a few moments to lick his head. Then the creature returned to its holographic form and turned back to Edo who was smiling.

"It seems like you two have become friends." Edo noticed.

"Yes we have, but now it's time for your old friend to return." Subaru responded and then he tried to hand the two cards to Edo.

But much to his surprise, the brown haired duelist pushed his hand aside and laughed.

"Hahaha, there's no need for all this drama!"

"Huh? What do you mean, Edo-kun?" Subaru asked confused.

"I got two Aqua Naruto Surfer cards from a DMX-04 booster pack a few weeks ago!" Edo informed him and then he pulled out two Water cards that were exactly the same as those his friend was holding. "You see, Snipy will always be with me, no matter what!"

Subaru and Aqua Naruto Surfer looked at each other and sweated.

"So, who wants some ice cream?" Edo broke their little moment of embarrassment and jumped joyously towards the UFO.

"Wait Edo-kun, there's no ice cream machine there!" Subaru shouted and ran after his friend.

Meanwhile inside the temple Tsugumi and Hakuoh had finished the first phase of rebuilding it. They managed to clean up the mess caused by the final battle against Devil Diabolos Zeta and they also created an office for Hakuoh behind the altar from the center of the temple. Now the two light users were sitting in the brand new office which was a large room decorated with paintings which represented the leaders of the five civilizations, two red couches near the left and right walls, a small fountain in a corner, a large palm tree in the opposing corner, two packs of drawers near the two couches and a large desk near the back wall which had a computer, paper and writing supplies. Also, there was a TV screen hanging above the desk. The office had three windows, all with stained glass representing three incarnations of the Hero of Light: Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits on the left, King Alcadeias, Holy Gaia on the right and Alphadios, Lord of Spirits behind the desk.

Hakuoh sat at the desk typing things on his computer and having an aura of importance surround him. Tsugumi sat nervously at the right couch sometimes catching a glance of the stained glass that depicted Alcadeias which was a few feet in front of her.

"Tsugumi…" Hakuoh broke the silence.

"Yes, Hakuoh-sama?" the girl jumped off the couch and then she rushed to the desk.

"I wanted to inform you that if all goes well and we manage to get enough personnel, this temple will be ready in less than a month. Then I will be able to hold my summer courses here."

"That is indeed wonderful news, Hakuoh-sama! But why exactly is there any need for this temple to become a new training center? Don't you already have a school?"

"Things will be different when it comes down to the temple, Tsugumi. Here we will bring only those duelists who prove worthy to evolve and we will train them to become the next heroes, the next defenders of the world."

"The next defenders? That is an interesting concept, Hakuoh-sama."

"The chosen duelists will have to take these new apprentices to missions to have them see what dangers they will have to confront. Also, you five will also have to train them and…"

"Hold it, let me stop you right there, Hakuoh-sama!" Tsugumi interrupted him.

"Is there a problem, Tsugumi?" Hakuoh asked surprised.

"Yes it is, why did you make those decisions without asking us? Do you think that you could simply tell us to take others into missions and train them and that we'd immediately agree? Forgive me, but that's not how we function! We care for the lives of those that come with us and if anything, they will hinder us more since we will have to protect them instead of fighting evil and that won't be good at all! Also, do you really think that we would sacrifice our own free time just so we could tutor newcomers? If the answer is 'yes', then you're highly mistaken!"

"Tsugumi, how dare you speak like that to me?!" Hakuoh burst and then he got up from his chair. "I am your teacher, I am the head of the temple, I am your master!"

"No, mister Hakuoh, you are mistaken yet again." Tsugumi interrupted once more. "You are no longer my teacher since I have left your school and you are also not my master! The only one that I serve is the Proof!"

"How dare you speak such…"

"No, Hakuoh, how dare you try to decide what we chosen duelists do as if we are your personal puppets! You should know by now that we have our own lives and we decide what to do with them!"

"So because of your so called freedom you prefer to neglect the important duty of educating the next generation?"

"This is your job, if I recall, not ours."

Hakuoh then sighed and he turned around and stared at the stained glass of Alphadios.

"My job, eh? You're probably right, this is my job and this is what I have been doing ever since my former apprentice separated me from my evil counterpart White. My job… has taken away any of that free time that you guys crave to have. I never had time to spend with my brother Kokujo, I couldn't even attend his funeral. I never had time to do any sort of relaxing activity. Each day was work and once again work." Hakuoh reflected. "But if I, a former chosen duelist and the head of a school cannot have this kind of freedom, then how come you five chosen duelists, great heroes and defenders of this world that have put your heads in danger so many times can have it?"

"Maybe it's because… we are still young?" Tsugumi suggested. "Sure, I'm not counting Subaru and myself, but Tamma, Luna and Tiger always take advantage to have fun when duty isn't calling. And frankly, I and Subaru have managed to keep this mentality."

"Why? You could use that time to prevent future evils from rising."

"Hakuoh-sama, evil will always exist, no matter what happens. We cannot waste our lives always keeping our guards up, because if we do that then we will never truly appreciate life's beauties and wonders." Tsugumi explained.

"And if that's so, then this is how your life will pass: fighting for the world's sake and having fun, these will be your two objectives, until that moment comes." Hakuoh replied and his words made the blonde girl curious. "The moment when you open your eyes and realize that life has passed. The moment when you see that you're too old to fight. The moment when you find out you have to be replaced."

"There is still a long way to that day."

"But what happens when it comes? Exactly, you must have someone competent to replace you. That's why I am putting all my efforts into the school and this temple, because when the need will be, we will have the replacement for a chosen duelist."

"Why are you so insistent on this whole cautious replacement thing? We're all young and full of life; the world is still safe in our hands!"

"Yes, but nobody lives forever." Hakuoh sighed. "Forgive me, Tsugumi, but I am old on the inside and I am starting to feel that my time is soon to come. Maybe then I will be freed of all these worldly worries."

"Don't say that." Tsugumi replied putting her right hand on his right shoulder. "You're a good friend of ours, as long as we are here you will always have a place where you can go and relax. Don't overwork yourself with all these worries, in the end what truly matters are your spiritual needs."

"My spiritual needs?" Hakuoh asked.

"Yes, look into your heart and you will see what I am talking about." the girl explained.

The blonde boy dressed in a white Italian uniform put his right hand on his chest and felt his heart beating. For a moment there was silence but then he looked into Tsugumi's eyes and was about to say something when a ringing sound came from his computer. Someone was calling. Hakuoh turned to his computer and he pressed a button that answered the call. A hologram which represented an old man dressed in a white shirt and brown pants with a monocle on his right eye appeared on the desk.

"Hey there, Boris, long time no talk!" Hakuoh greeted.

"I am sorry to disturb you at this time, but there is something urgent that I need to inform you!" the old man spoke in a nutshell.

"What is it? You seem awfully worried." the blonde boy remarked.

"I recently got a vocal message from someone that was using a voice changer. They ordered me to make an exact replica of the Proof of Duelmaster." the old man explained and both Hakuoh and Tsugumi were shocked. "Someone is planning to steal the Proof and I fear we might all be in danger. Please Hakuoh, do something, I am really scared and don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, I will send the chosen duelists to your jewel shop tomorrow. We will get to the bottom of this, no matter what!" Hakuoh assured him.

"Thank you, I will always be grateful for your help." Boris responded.

And thus the hologram disappeared and the conversation ended. Hakuoh sighed once again and revealed his tiredness as he put his elbows on the table and his hands on his eyes.

"I guess we better get going." Tsugumi suggested. "If the UFO is fast enough, we'll be there when the sun rises."

"Go, but be careful." Hakuoh advised.

"As always, Hakuoh-sama, as always."

Back at the city of the chosen duelists, night had long fallen and most of the citizens were asleep. It was past midnight and yet old man Boris was working at his jewel shop that was still open. As he was polishing a sapphire stone, he heard someone open the door and step in.

"Good evening, sir, how may I serve you?" the old man spoke as he got up from his chair.

But then he had the shock of seeing a figure dressed in a black robe with a black hood covering its head, black boots, black gloves and a rope in its hands.

"Oh no, you must be the one who wanted the Proof's duplicate…" Boris grasped.

The black figure rushed towards him and the old man could barely speak:

"Wait, I promise I'll make it!"

His words did not matter. The strange figure jumped on him and tied the rope to his neck, pulling the nod tighter trying to asphyxiate him. When it saw that the old man lost his conscience, it let go of the rope, put him on a chair and tied him up. Afterwards it used adhesive tape to cover his mouth.

The black clothed figure started searching through the shelves of the jewel man but all it found were rings, necklaces, earrings and a few sharp gems such as rubies, emeralds and sapphires. There was no sign of what it wanted to find. However the figure did set its eyes on a box filled with little bottles of viper venom. There were also some rat traps lying next to the box. The stranger took the box and put it on the table. Afterwards it looked at one of the opened shelves and noticed two sharp silver claws. In just a matter of seconds it snatched the claws, put them on its left hand's index finger and middle finger and then it dipped them in one of the venom bottles. Afterwards it slowly approached the tied old man like a predator, with the two claws ready to attack.

Boris opened his eyes and he tried to scream but couldn't. He tried to escape but it was futile. He then tried to mumble to the black figure and gesticulated 'why' with his head and shoulders. The black clothed stranger turned to his computer and typed something. Afterwards it turned the screen to the old man which said: 'Because you informed Hakuoh.' Then its attention was caught by a sharp golden cross that was lying on another table. It seemed that Boris was recently working on it, as its middle was lacking a jewel which was most likely the sapphire he was polishing. The figure took it, dipped it in the same bottle with venom and afterwards it walked to the terrified old man and pressed it onto his forehead until the venom fully entered his blood vessels. In a matter of seconds Boris was dead.

After fifteen minutes, the security cameras of the jewel shop had all their tapes erased, the computer had its hard drive erased and the whole place was devoid of any finger prints. The assassin cautiously sneaked out of the building with the claws and the box filled with viper venom and thus disappeared in the dead of the night.


	54. The Monk

The next day as soon as the sun rose in the sky, the chosen duelist UFO landed at the entrance of the city and the four heroes immediately got out and headed towards Boris' jewel shop. While Tamma and Edo were tired because they had woken up early, Subaru and Tsugumi were wide awake and focused, ready to talk to the jeweler. But just as they were approaching his shop, they saw three police rockets parked in front of it and a group of people gathered behind them.

"Would you look at that?" Tsugumi pointed.

"Something must have happened while we were gone." Subaru hypothesized.

The four chosen duelists made their way through the crowd and they managed to enter the shop only to witness a shocking sight. The shop was devastated; the jewels were all lying on the floor, lots of policemen were looking around and their friend Luna was sitting next to the dead body of Boris which was tied to a chair.

"Luna-san!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Tsugumi-chan, everyone!" Luna responded. "What are you doing here?"

"We'd ask you the same question." Subaru countered. "Hakuoh sent us here to talk to Boris."

"And I was sent here by my parents to help them with an autopsy since I am developing my medical skills." the blue haired girl replied.

"So what exactly happened?" Tsugumi asked.

"Boris was killed." Luna said and she gesticulated towards a golden cross that was lying in a transparent bag used for clues on the table. "Someone poisoned that sharp cross and then pressed it on his forehead until the venom entered his blood vessels. I think they used viper venom."

"Oh my, that's horrible!" the blonde girl exclaimed. "Last night when Boris talked to Hakuoh-sama, he was very scared. He said that someone ordered him to make a replica of the Proof of Duelmaster and that we were all in danger."

"If that's the case, then the one who killed Boris also plans to steal the Proof." Subaru thought it out. "Say Luna, are there any ways of finding out who did it?"

"I am sorry, Subaru, but the police hasn't found anything so far. We have been here for almost two hours and there was no fingerprint to be found. The cameras have their tapes erased, the computer's hard drive has also been erased and the criminal did not leave one mark. Whoever we are dealing with is someone who likes to clean up after themselves." Luna explained.

"I see. Do you have any idea where Tiger is?" the black haired boy asked.

"He came with me to investigate and he took off after five minutes of analyzing the whole place. When I asked him where he was going, he told me that he was going after the criminal." the blue haired girl answered.

"Is he out of his mind?!" Tsugumi burst out. "How does he think that he can take on a psychopath all by himself?"

"I don't know, but he guaranteed me that he would find him." Luna responded.

"I agree with Luna. I suggest we all trust Tiger and wait and see what he will find." Subaru added.

"Fine, meanwhile let's go back to the UFO and inform Hakuoh-sama with what has happened." Tsugumi suggested.

But little did the trio know that as they were having their discussion, Edo and Tamma were sleeping against the empty jewel shelves.

Meanwhile in a darker part of the city, Tiger was wandering through the streets in pursuit of the criminal. Sometimes when his instincts informed him, he would sniff the air or even the cyber sidewalks or normal sidewalks like a dog, ignoring the bypassers that would give him strange looks. After hours of search he finally found a clue, a small puddle of yellow liquid lying in front of an old flat. The blonde teen leaned towards it and sniffed it. Then he got up and turned to the flat saying:

"The exact same smell as the one at the jewel shop. I've got you now, you bastard!"

Tiger set foot inside the old flat and looked around searching for the place where he could sniff more of that liquid. Since he found nothing at the first floor, he climbed to the second and kept searching only to find nothing yet again. And so he searched each floor until he reached the eleventh and last one. At that one he felt the exact same scent once again, only this time a little fainter. But that didn't stop him from walking by each apartment door and sniffing it.

Finally he stopped by apartment number 99 when he sensed that the smell was a little stronger than the general one from the hall. Tiger analyzed the door and tried to listen to what was going on inside. Hearing no move and seeing no shadows moving under the door, he realized that there was nobody home. Obviously, the door was locked, but he had seen enough thieves rob houses in his life to learn a method of opening a door. His only problem was that the door might have been equipped with an alarm and he might end up in a trap. Still, he took the risk and went on with his method. Tiger took out a card from his deck and tried to use it as an access card. Seeing that he couldn't trick the computer, he tried to use it as a key. Once again it didn't work, but that only meant that he had to take more drastic measures.

"Tora, I need your help." Tiger whispered and the hologram of Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ appeared on his shoulder.

"What's the problem?" the creature asked.

"I need you to somehow open this door for me." the chosen nature duelist explained.

"Alright!" Tora replied and then it materialized as a small creature.

Tora jumped off Tiger's shoulder and landed with its fire sword inside the door's hole for the key or card. With a few left and right moves of the sword, the creature managed to open the door.

"Thank you, I guess I owe you one." Tiger said.

"We'll talk about this later, now you've got a scumbag to catch." Tora replied and disappeared back into his deck.

Tiger carefully opened the door and slowly set foot into the apartment. Afterwards he discretely closed it, sighing with relief that nobody had seen him. The apartment was large and it was decorated with black curtains that covered all the windows, couches and chairs that were covered with white sheets, tables filled with various old objects, a bed with red covers near the west corner, a TV screen hung above the opposite corner and a computer next to the bed.

"Tsh, there should be some info inside you." Tiger said and approached the computer.

But then he heard the sounds of a lock. Someone had returned home. The blonde teen quickly jumped into the empty wardrobe. In a few moments a figure dressed in a black robe with a hood covering their head appeared in the room.

"Who's this guy? The criminal? Darn, I can't see his face." Tiger thought.

Back at the chosen duelist UFO, Subaru was trying to wake up the tired Tamma and Edo while Tsugumi and Luna were reporting to Hakuoh the details on Boris' death.

"I see, in the end it was too late for poor Boris." Hakuoh sighed.

"I am so sorry, Hakuoh-sama." Luna confessed. "There was nothing we could do for him anymore."

"If only we had reached him earlier…" Tsugumi regretted.

"The dead belong to the dead and what has passed has passed." Hakuoh concluded. "Now I want to give you news on what I have recently found out."

"What has happened, Hakuoh-sama?" Luna asked.

"I have recently received an email from an anonymous person whose address the police is now trying to track. I will read it to you." Hakuoh said and then he turned to his computer and began reading. "Roses are red, /Violets are blue, /Boris is dead/Because of you. Signed, The Monk."

"So the monster calls itself The Monk." Tsugumi deduced.

"And he or she also has a macabre sense of humor." Luna noticed.

"Besides all that, this psychopath is after the Proof for whatever reason. We have to make sure that the UFO is well guarded and far away from the city!" Hakuoh declared. "That's why I want you all to take off immediately and…"

In the next moment a small ringing sound interrupted the long haired blonde male. He reached into his suit's pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Hello?"

"If the UFO or the chosen duelists leave this city, your whole school will pay!" a robotic voice came from the phone.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" Hakuoh asked.

"You have been warned." the stranger replied and closed the call.

"Wait! Don't hang up on me, you bastard!" Hakuoh shouted and then he turned to the camera at the two girls. "It was him."

"And what does he want?" Luna asked.

"He said that if you dare to leave the city with or without the UFO, there will be severe consequences." Hakuoh spoke shocked.

"And the psycho pretty much proved his point." Tsugumi added, alluding to Boris' death.

"What should we do, Hakuoh-sama?" Luna asked.

"Stay there and keep an eye on the Proof. That's all for now." Hakuoh said.

A few hours had passed and the black robed assassin left the apartment and locked the door. Tiger got out of the wardrobe and rushed at the computer once again but he immediately stopped right as his fingers were about to touch the 'on' button.

"No, I can't leave fingerprints." Tiger thought and then he looked around for something to cover his hands. "I must be careful. This must be his hideout."

The chosen duelist saw a pair of black gloves on a table and he immediately put them on. Afterwards he turned on the computer only to be disappointed to see that it required a password. Not being able to access it, he turned it off and kept looking around for clues.

"So you don't want us to leave town. What are you planning to do with us, you sick bastard?" Tiger thought.

He then stopped in front of the TV screen and saw the message 'You will all die!' written with red marker. Tiger took the remote control, turned on the TV and saw that it was a tape paused at the moment when the five chosen duelists had all returned from their latest quest. The message was clear to him.

Resuming his search, he also found a small bottle with viper venom, a stamp, a piece of paper, an envelope, an old pen and an even older clock sitting on a table. On another table there were tubes filled with chemicals, chemistry books and two candles.

"Interesting, nothing's dusty. Either someone is using all these things or they get cleaned daily." Tiger hypothesized.

The teen then sensed the smell that led him to the criminal's lair even stronger than before. He picked up the bottle with viper venom and put his nose above it for a moment only to remove it quickly.

"Tsh, it's no doubt, this is the guy I'm looking for." Tiger concluded.

And so the sun had set and the night's reign began once again. Since the lights of the apartment were really low, Tiger had to cease his search and wait for the criminal to return. But then he realized that he had to communicate the discovery he had just made that day to someone, so he took out his phone, dialed a number and called.

Meanwhile at the UFO, in order to entertain the two childish chosen duelists, Subaru sacrificed himself and offered to play twister with Edo and Tamma. The trio was sitting on a board with colored circles, Subaru lying on his four limbs like a table, Edo with his right arm stretched above Subaru's belly and his left foot above his head and Tamma was sitting like a rainbow with both arms and feet united, his body being between Subaru's belly and Edo's arm.

"Isn't twister fun, Suby?" Edo smiled.

"It's awesome exercise!" Tamma added.

"I might find joy in such games Edo-kun if my spine didn't hurt like hell!" Subaru cried.

"Are you alright, bro?" Tamma asked.

"Don't worry, he's just having fun!" Edo dismissed.

A sad symphonic melody resounded in the room and Subaru looked at his phone which was lying not far from the twister box. But he couldn't answer it, not only because he was stuck, but also because he had to play with his friends. Luckily for him, he had thought of a plan to escape the duo.

"Guys, the space pirate monkeys show is starting now!" Subaru announced them.

"Cool, time for some TV!" both exclaimed and in the matter of moments they got out of the clutch and rushed to the living room.

"Works every time." the black haired teen thought while getting up and then he answered the phone. "Hello? Subaru here."

"Subaru, this is Tiger." the chosen nature duelist replied.

"Dude, where have you been? We've all been worried!"

"I'm at the place where the murderer lives."

"You what?!"

"You heard me; I'm at the hideout of the one who killed Boris. It's an old apartment in the old center of the city. Pretty good hideout if you ask me, nobody would suspect to find out in this rather lonely place that doesn't have much technology."

"Tiger, we talked to Hakuoh a few hours ago. He got a message from the killer. It seems that he likes to call himself The Monk."

"The Monk? Heh, no wonder he dresses up all in black and wears a hood."

"Huh? You've seen him?"

"Yes, but not for long. Now tell me, what did the message say?"

"It just said that it's Hakuoh's fault that Boris was killed. But what about you? Been able to find something?"

"Actually yes, I did find out some interesting things. For one, this monk character seems to have a passion for chemistry as he has his own mini lab here. Also, he likes writing letters like you guys did a century ago. To top it off, he even has the image of us chosen duelists on his TV and he wrote 'You will all die!' on the screen. I don't know about you, Subaru, but I think that we've got one dangerous bastard to face."

"Tiger, I think you found out more than enough. You should come back, you're not safe there."

"Sorry Subaru, but I'm not coming back until I manage to see this motherfucker's face."

"Tiger don't be a fool!"

But the chosen nature duelist did not listen to his advice and hung up. Afterwards he switched his phone on silent mode so that he wouldn't be bothered anymore.

In that moment he heard someone unlock the door once again but this time it was too late for him to hide in the wardrobe so he just hid under a table. However instead of the black robed murderer, a tall brown haired man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black bowtie entered holding a briefcase and talking to a phone.

"Yes, oui, je suis here." the man spoke with an obvious French accent, mixing the two languages. "I do not see le Proof of Duelmaster anywhere. I need to get my hands on le bijou. Non, don't worry about that. Toute la monaie est ici, mais I will not give it to anyone, si je don't get the Proof. Je ne vois pas le Proof. I do not see the Proof. Non, non, mon ami, si je ne vois pas le Proof, I will not give you l'argent. C'est simple."

The man closed the phone and when he turned around he saw Tiger close the door.

"So you plan on stealing the Proof, eh?" the chosen duelist asked.

"Stealing? Mais non, mon ami, you got it wrong! I only want to buy it. C'était completement different!"

"You're doing business with The Monk! You must certainly know who the bastard that killed Boris the jewel man is!"

"Boris? Excuse-moi, mais what connection is there between these two?"

"Obviously the guy who plans to sell you the Proof is also the one who killed Boris."

"Je suis interesté in buying the Proof. I don't know anything about any murder. Je n'ai pas entendu anything about Boris the jewel man for a few months, not since I last bought some rare emeralds from him." the man excused himself. "Now if you don't mind…"

As the French man was about to open the door, Tiger grabbed him and held his shirt tightly that he began to tremble as their eyes met.

"Who is the one who wants to sell you the Proof?" Tiger asked.

"If you want to meet him, wait a moment, because he is going to bring the Proof here." the French man explained.

In a fit of rage Tiger threw him on chair and then he pulled him back up again saying:

"Listen here jerk, right now you're gonna call your seller and ask him why he killed Boris."

"Oui, oui…" the man approved and he took out his cell phone and called back.

The phone rang for a couple of seconds until finally someone answered.

"Hello? Oui, I was wondering if you could tell me why you killed Boris." the French man said but then he turned to Tiger with a worried expression on his face. "It hung up. I didn't hear a word."

In the next moment Tiger grabbed him by the neck and held him in the air.

"Try to understand that he didn't tell me anything." the Frenchman mumbled scared. "Maybe he thought it was weird that I asked about Boris. C'est très suspect."

"Either you tell me who he is, or I kill you here and now!" Tiger threatened and raised his fist in the air.

"Je ne connais pas cette personne. I have never met this Monk before."

"Is it a man or a woman?"

"At first it was a man, but then a woman took his place. My last transactions were made avec une femme."

"Give me a name!"

"I don't know. I don't know any names!" the man barely spoke due to the fear. "Je ne pourrais pas distinguire his voice. It could be anyone."

"Call him or her again." Tiger ordered and then he let go of him. "But this time I will listen to the voice."

"Oui, oui, as you wish."

This time the chosen duelist took the phone and dialed up the number. After a few minutes of waiting, a voice answered and informed him that the one he was trying to call had their phone closed. Sighing, the blonde hid the phone in his jacket's pockets and then he turned to the man with the briefcase and said:

"I'll keep this phone for evidence. As for you, get your ass out of here!"

"Oui, monsieur." the Frenchman agreed and he began to walk to the door only to have Tiger push him violently towards it.

"You're still here? Move it!" Tiger shouted and finally the man with the briefcase left the apartment. "Oh, and tell your seller that he's really screwed if I get my hands on him!"

"More like anyone would be screwed because of you fils de pute…" the man thought as he disappeared in the dark corridor while searching his briefcase for another phone.

Tiger closed the door and then he began to walk in circles while talking to himself:

"I'll stay here and wait for the bastard to return. Then I'll make him pay for what he did to Boris."

As the hours passed, Tiger was getting more and more tired. To top it off, it started raining outside and the apartment's temperature fell significantly. The chosen duelist had to wrap his arms around himself to keep some warmth. Suddenly a lightning struck and a thunder played its loud melody scaring him a bit. But what scared him most was the sound of someone unlocking the door. The blonde immediately hid in the wardrobe and waited to see who had come. In a matter of seconds he saw the same black robed figure enter the darkened room.

"Good. You got the message and you returned." Tiger thought.

The assassin walked in circles in the room, sometimes taking a look at the objects from the tables. Then the black clothed killer stopped for a moment in front of a mirror and took off the hood that covered their head.

"Now I'll find out who you are, you bastard." the chosen duelist spoke in his mind.

But the owner of the apartment was too far away from the wardrobe and so the unexpected guest couldn't see their face due to the darkness from the room. After a few moments the mysterious figure disappeared from the apartment.

"No, you're not leaving until I find out who you are." the tall muscular teen declared in his mind.

In the next moment Tiger jumped out of the wardrobe and quickly took a look around the living room. There was no sign of the murderer. But then he heard steps and turned his back only to see the black robed figure walk from behind a sofa with their hood covering their head once again.

"Finally, we are face to face. From what I've heard, you call yourself The Monk, am I right?" Tiger asked smiling and the killer nodded in response. "I heard that you want to steal the Proof, am I right? Well I've got bad news for you, buddy, we'll hide it deeper than you can imagine and nothing you can do will help you find it!"

That declaration really stirred the anger in The Monk. The assassin searched in the robe's pockets and pulled out a deck which shined brightly. Tiger understood the message. Both walked to the closest dueling tables, put their decks on them and began their duel.

The Monk was a silent individual. He didn't even speak once during the match. He simply put his cards on the table and used their effects. His first move was to tap Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper and Father Earth and to summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie. Then he destroyed it and put the top card of his deck which was Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight into his mana zone.

"Heh, not the talkative type, eh?" Tiger tried to make his opponent speak but got nothing. "Tsh, fine, I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!"

The top card of Tiger's deck which was Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord flew off and landed in the mana zone as the third card. Now The Monk's turn came once again. He drew a card, charged mana and summoned Iron Arm Tribe which gave him yet another mana card.

"Mana increase, huh? Whatever he's planning, I gotta hinder it." Tiger thought and then he said. "I cast Faerie Gift and reduce the cost of the next creature I summon by three. Then I summon Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force and put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A blue metallic dragon with a fire horn on its forehead and wielding a fire sword in its tail appeared in the battle zone and roared at Tiger's opponent. Now The Monk's cards were put in the mana zone tapped but he didn't seem to mind. He simply drew a card, charged mana and then he put Hustle Castle on one of his shields, thus ending his turn.

"Alright freak, time to settle this!" Tiger declared while showing a Nature card. "I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole, put the top card of my deck to the mana zone and then I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon that was wielding two yellow flame swords appeared in the battle zone and roared at The Monk as well. Now it was the perfect time for an attack.

"Go, Victorious Meteor Kaiser, double break his shields!" Tiger ordered and the blue dragon swung the sword with his tail and slashed two of The Monk's shields.

However the shield shards quickly united into two Nature cards which The Monk showed to Tiger. One of them was Father Earth which sent Victorious Gaial Kaiser back in the hyperspatial zone and replaced him with the Bronze-Arm Tribe from Tiger's mana zone. The other was Leaf Storm Trap which put The Monk's Iron Arm Tribe in the mana zone and Tiger's Victorious Meteor Kaiser back to the hyperspatial zone.

"Tsh, Geo Crashing Miranda, break his shield!" Tiger ordered and the elephant like Alien used its giant hammer to crash another one of The Monk's shields, leaving him just with two. "Heh, let's see what you'll do now, buddy! I got five shields while you got two. It seems like I also have the field advantage. Soon you'll be toast!"

But little did Tiger know that it was far from over. Now it was The Monk's turn and his first move was to cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroyed Bronze-Arm Tribe and put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone to also twain Geo Crashing Miranda. Also, since The Monk put a creature in the battle zone, Hustle Castle allowed him to draw another card which was Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Due to casting a spell that turn, he used Gravity Zero and put Bloody Shadow in the battle zone for free which in turn allowed him to draw yet another card. Then The Monk ended.

It seemed that Tiger's luck had faded. After drawing, the only cards in his hand were Living Lithograph and Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord. None were of any use to him, so he simply put Living Lithograph in his mana zone and ended, hoping for a better draw in his next turn.

However, that was just the beginning of his torture. Now that The Monk's turn had come, he casted Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which due to the sacrifice of Bloody Shadow it brought both Volg Thunder and Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone. The Monk pointed at Tiger's deck and the red armored wolf demon wielding a blue sword roared loudly and made the cards from Tiger's deck fall to the graveyard one by one. Faerie Life, Faerie Gift, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Hyperspatial Red Green Hole, Natural Snare, Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord, Hyperspatial Faerie Hole and Come On Pippi all landed in Tiger's graveyard. Volg Thunder's milling effect was devastating for Tiger's Miranda Gift deck which had more than twenty spells in it. Since Volg Thunder causes the milling of at least two cards and those had to be creatures, his deck was facing a great crisis. Due to Hustle Castle, The Monk drew two more cards and then he ended his turn. Also, to put salt on the wound, Cheval awakened into Cheuxvelt at the end of the turn because Black Ganveet and Volg Thunder were both Demon Commands with a cost equal or greater than 6.

Tiger drew his next card which was Faerie Gift. It was of no use to him so he charged mana and ended his turn. The situation was very difficult and he was cursing Volg Thunder for damaging his deck so hard. And still much more awaited him.

The Monk drew his next card, charged mana and then he tapped all eight mana cards and showed to Tiger the one card that would bring his doom. It was a Darkness Alien with the cost of 8, power of 9000 which went by the name of Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. Since he had seen Shubham use it before, he knew of its effect. It would sacrifice any number of its user's creatures and replace them with psychic creatures that cost 6 or less. Then he realized that Volg Thunder had a cost of 6 and his eyes widened in shock. The Monk's Black Ganveet, Volg Thunder and Cheuxvelt all blew up and disappeared back to the hyperspatial zone only to be replaced by three Volg Thunders. The Monk pointed at Tiger's deck and thus the milling began. But this time it was worse since he had to get six creatures in the graveyard. One by one, the cards went into Tiger's graveyard once again, this time they being two Hyperspatial Red Green Hole, two Faerie Life, three Come On Pippi, Living Lithograph, Bronze-Arm Tribe, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Faerie Gift, and two Jasmine, Mist Faerie.

Only two cards were left in his deck. Tiger then remembered of a similar situation when Kaizer had used Gallows Hellish Dragon to mill his deck in a similar manner. But back then he was able to pull a miracle. Now the miracle seemed pretty much impossible since he had lost most of his hyperspatial spells and had none in hand. He drew his next card – Natural Snare – a card which couldn't help him much. Sighing, he casted it and got rid of one of The Monk's Volg Thunders. But it didn't matter since he had only one card left in his deck and once one draws their last card, they lose the game.

Now that he was in control of the situation, The Monk didn't do much. He just summoned a Jenny, the Dismantling Doll to discard Tiger's last card, then he also summoned a Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper just in case and he also drew two cards. Afterwards he crossed his hands triumphantly and looked at the defeated Tiger who was filled with anger and frustration.

When the chosen nature duelist drew his last card, an explosion occurred and he landed on the ground hurt and covered in burns. The Monk approached him and stared at him with great interest. Then the killer put on his two silver claws, leaned down to him and rubbed his face with them as if he was a pet.


	55. Search

It was a normal summer day like any other. Or so Subaru hoped to be. What he thought would be another passing of his same routine: waking up, eating, and playing with Edo and Tamma until dusk, more eating and a romantic night with Tsugumi would soon change. Yes, once again there would be something bothering his soul that would have him indisposed and unable to conform to his usual program. And it all began with him sitting all alone in the living room waiting for Edo and Tamma to finish brushing their teeth.

Sitting on a plush chair, Subaru was feeling the laziness of sleep returning to him. He tried to get rid of it by rubbing his eyes and stretching his limbs. Then he put his head into the chair looking at the ceiling and he sat there in a relaxing position. That way he could fall into his thoughts and forget for a few moments of the world around him. Then he pictured the image of Tiger sitting with his arms in his white pants' pockets and with his sly smile that revealed slickness and also benevolence, showcasing that even though he was tough, he was also a good friend to have around. The chosen darkness duelist sighed while the worry for his friend returned yet again. He knew that Tiger was in danger, but he couldn't do anything. He didn't give him the address of the killer and thus he couldn't call the police. What was worse was that he had received no more signs from him ever since the other night.

But little did Subaru know that his worries would soon take other forms. Trying to forget about Tiger, the teen walked to the bookshelf and looked for something to read so that the time would pass. Yes, it took both Edo and Tamma a lot to brush their teeth for they were really lazy and weren't very bright either, which only meant that he would have some good time to enjoy a good book. When it came down to Subaru's taste in books, he was very picky and would rarely find a good book to enjoy. He was searching for something regarding religion and mysticism and there it was, a book that matched his tastes: Satan's Autopsy (When Science confronts Religion) by Luis de la Higuera. The title immediately captivated him so he quickly pulled the book out. However along with it, a small CD also fell on the floor. The metallic circular object caught his attention and the boy leaned down and picked it up. He saw that there was something written on it with really small letters, so he looked in a drawer which was close by and took out a magnifying glass. Sure, he could have taken a photo and then increased its resolution on a screen until he could have a better view of the letters, but he was in a hurry, so he did it the old fashioned way.

"For Subaru, please view it all alone in my old house, signed Doctor Root." Subaru read.

The black haired boy scratched his chin for a few moments while analyzing the CD. Afterwards he made a decision and walked to the kitchen where he saw Tsugumi cooking and reading upon various recipes from the Internet on a computer. Luna was also there, sitting at the table and working on her laptop.

"Tsugumi, I have to go for a while in the city. See you later." Subaru announced.

"Alright, when are you going to be back?" Tsugumi asked.

"Around dinner time." her lover replied and then he turned to the blue haired girl. "Luna, make sure that you find out more info about The Monk while I am gone."

"Don't worry; I am already working on that. You go to your business." Luna assured him.

And so Subaru left a quick kiss on Tsugumi's cheek and walked out of the UFO. When Tamma and Edo finally came to the living room, they found no trace of their friend.

Around an hour after Subaru left, everything went on normally at the spaceship. Edo and Tamma were playing Space Invaders video games, Luna was doing her research on The Monk and Tsugumi was almost done with both lunch and dinner. While the blonde girl was spinning her spoon in the boiling stew, Luna spoke to her not taking her eyes off the laptop one moment:

"Tsugumi-chan, you won't believe what I've just found!"

"What is it, Luna-chan?" Tsugumi asked back while turning her attention to the blue haired girl.

"The Monk has his own website!" Luna announced and showed the laptop screen which revealed a black internet page that had different red spots similar to blood stains which were links to different other pages of the same site, above them being the image of the black robed killer raising his two poisoned claws in the air looking like he was about to attack.

"Wow, I didn't know that this is the new trend between criminals."

"Me neither. But look, the guy said in his own personal blog that he is working on his first horror movie entitled The Monk which will be finished around the end of this summer. To make it worse, he has his own forum where people give him information when he asks for it."

"The poor innocents think that this is all an act."

"Yes, when in actuality The Monk is using them for his own mischievous plans. Such a cruel world we live in, Tsugumi-chan."

"I know, Luna. Say, what else can you find out from this site?"

"Not much, but I do intend to write an email and toy with him the same way he is toying with us." Luna slyly said.

"Good idea! This way we could try to play his game and turn it to our favor!" Tsugumi replied.

In the next moment someone knocked at the UFO's door. Luna got up from her chair and went to see who it was. Forgetting any caution of imminent danger, the girl opened the door and to her shock she saw the same black clothed figure that was on the website she had visited. The girl screamed and made a step back but that figure fell on the floor unconscious. Tsugumi and Tamma rushed to see what was going on and they all saw the fainted stranger that had a small note on his back which said: 'I am The Monk!'.

"Wow, we've just begun the adventure and we already caught the bad guy? Man we're awesome!" Tamma said.

"Well if this is The Monk, let's find out who he is!" Tsugumi suggested and the girl leaned to the unconscious person and pulled the hood off.

In the next moment all three exclaimed shocked. The one that was lying in front of them dressed as The Monk was Tiger.

"I just knew it! That freak was a traitor all along!" Tamma immediately judged.

"It can't be, can it?" Tsugumi asked with confusion.

"Guys, this is obviously a trick." Luna deduced and then she pulled off the 'I am The Monk!' note. "Think logically, what criminal in their right mind would turn themselves in and even have this note that is evidence against themselves?"

"You're right, this must be some kind of bad joke." the blonde girl supported.

"I don't know, Tiger might be dangerous." the red haired kid speculated.

"Ow, my head…" Tiger mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"Quick, let's take him to the hospital room!" Luna suggested.

As the chosen duelists were taking care of their mate, The Monk managed to sneak into their spaceship through the back door. First the killer looked around to be sure that the coast was clear and then he made slow steps so that he wouldn't be heard. He took out a map of the spaceship which he analyzed carefully. He immediately deducted that he was in the west wing and that the Proof was hidden in the center. To reach it he had to go through three different halls but that wasn't a problem since he had a map to guide him.

Meanwhile at the hospital room, Tiger was lying on a bed while Tsugumi was bandaging his wounds and Luna was connecting him to machines that sustained his health. Tamma was sitting on the chair playing with his feet. When Tiger opened his yellow eyes again and saw the situation, he gave them a small laugh and said:

"Guys, you didn't have to bother so much for me. It's nothing."

"Drop the tough guy act, it won't work with us." Tsugumi responded.

"So until we manage to stabilize you, care to tell us what happened?" Luna asked.

"Let's just say that The Monk defeated me in a duel. That's the last thing I remember before waking up here in his clothes." Tiger explained.

"It seems that he has a morbid sense of humor. I have analyzed him carefully and it turns out that he is a special type of criminal." Luna caught the attention of her three teammates. "Tell me Tiger, was he angry?"

"Yes, I told him that we'll do whatever we can to stop him from getting his hands on the Proof. That surely pissed him off."

"Usually anger acts like a catalyst on criminals like him. That's what makes them pass the line between intention and doing. Once one passes it, there's no way back." Luna explained.

"So if the killer realizes that there's no turning back, he'll continue killing with less and less remorse and will not stop until he gets what he wants?" Tsugumi hypothesized.

"That's right. He'll kill with less compunction and more preparing. From what I read, with each crime the killers create better and more concise murder plans." Luna said.

"In other words our holidays are screwed!" Tamma intervened. "This guy will change from amateur to professional and then we'll be in trouble!"

"Another interesting thing about criminals is what is called 'two faces' or 'double personality'. It's another pathology of the murderer. They feel some sort of call, as if someone or something is telling them that they have to kill. It's almost as if they were possessed." Luna continued her discourse.

"So far we only know of one murder that was committed by him. It might be his first." Tiger replied.

"The first murder may be committed with errors. But after he does it, he'll feel as if he had surpassed good and evil. With every crime committed he'll feel more powerful. He'll always try to intimidate people and awaken their fear." Luna concluded.

The Monk opened the door to a darkened room that was filled with many video cameras that were recording each and every move and laser beams that shined around a safe. The black robed robber realized immediately that inside it his prize was waiting. Analyzing the situation better, he realized that the beams were generated by small cannons that were implanted in the walls. Also, all their rays were meeting in a certain point, forming a protective net. In that moment an idea struck the intruder. Searching the robe's pockets, he pulled out a mirror which he put on the floor and made the beams go back to their original sources, destroying each and every gun.

With that obstacle out of the way, The Monk approached the safe only to see that it had a small machine attached to it with a code. That was making the situation much more difficult because if he entered the wrong code then the alarm would be turned on. In those moments he started to regret that he came unprepared for the mission. How much he wished he had a password breaking machine with him. But no, that wasn't the case. Everything depended on fate's gamble. Any combination of four numbers would bring him either the Proof or the raging chosen duelists on his back. Taking a deep breath, the killer thus began to type the four numbers.

Meanwhile in the heat of the summer morning Subaru made his way out of the city and managed to enter a deep forest dressed in his usual short sleeved black T shirt with the symbol of the Darkness civilization. He also had his deck and the CD in his dark blue jeans' pockets. The big temperature was making him wish he had put his mane in a small pony tail and that he had taken some money with him to buy a drink. But that didn't matter anymore, for the message that dead Doctor Root had to offer him was much more important. Curiosity was pestering him like a toothache and he couldn't get his mind off it. With each step that he made, he felt as if he was getting closer to some truth that he had to unravel his whole life.

All of a sudden he saw between the tress the image of a huge brick fence followed by that of a barred gate. Behind it stood the imposing building of a small mansion which had its main corpus shaped after the head of Doctor Root. That was the good old doc's way of leaving a mark of his upon things. Even though since he woke from cryogenic sleep he spent the rest of his days in Kokujo's house and completely forgot about his original place, the building still gave Subaru the feeling that he was going to be greeted by the friendly old scientist into a laboratory where he would see new kooky inventions. But he knew that was not the case. Even time had shown its mercilessness upon it through the dust that lay upon the windows and the small plants that were growing on the walls and the roof.

Subaru opened the gates and stepped in the yard which would soon turn into part of the forest if the fences didn't separate the plants from those outside. The chosen duelist entered the house in a matter of seconds; the screeching sound of the door's opening disturbing his ears. Inside the whole house looked deserted. It was the friendliest place that dust ever had. Besides that, many spiders took it to themselves to decorate the corners with their webs.

Even though he was the chosen darkness duelist, Subaru wasn't feeling really comfortable being in that ruin. All that he wished was to find something at which he could play that CD, find out what the doctor wanted to tell him and go home. Luckily for him, he found a computer lying next to a table filled with books and cards. The black haired teen rushed to it and checked to see if it was in good shape. To his surprise, not only that the machine hadn't malfunctioned, but its wires were all in the right place ready to use. If not for the dust, he would have thought that someone had used it recently. Subaru pressed the on button and started the computer. Then he pulled a chair, sat down and he introduced the CD inside the machine. Afterwards he waited for it to load. It was a Windows 7 back from the beginning of the 21st century. Old stuff which loaded hard and worked slow compared to the present's standards.

After ten minutes not only did the whole Windows load but he also managed to find a good player for the video that was on the CD. He picked VLC player since it played every video format it existed. And so the moment he was waiting for had begun. The video started and the image of Doctor Root wearing his white glasses and white laboratory uniform appeared. His tri shaped hair was messy, sign that he had been overworking himself as usual. Also, from the looks on his face, he seemed really concerned.

"Subaru, if you are watching this then I am no more alive. And since this is the case, I want to tell you a secret that I have been hiding from you for your whole life. I always knew that you deserved to hear the truth, but I could never find the courage to confess myself to you not only because of my fear of your anger but also because I didn't want to turn your world upside down. You don't have to forgive me, I deserve whatever curse you will spit upon me and maybe a seat in the halls of the damned will be a good place for me to have my punishment. I just beg of you to bear this with me, for what I am about to tell you will bring forth such a great scandal and light hidden secrets that were better off in the past."

Back at the UFO, The Monk sneaked out of the room with the gem in his right hand. He slid it in the robe's pockets so that the cameras wouldn't see him. Afterwards the thief made slow but steady steps down the corridor while looking at the map, trying to find a quick exit. Moving his index finger down the paper, he found a small door being situated at the end of the very corridor he was on.

But fate decided to sneak its tail where it didn't belong and interfere with his plans once again. Out of the living room walked none other than Edo who was rather tired from all the video games he was playing. The brown haired chosen duelist turned his head to the right and saw the black robed figure approaching him looking suspiciously.

"Wow, awesome!" Edo exclaimed and The Monk panicked a bit. "I've never seen such a cool looking guy before! What's your name?"

Seeing that he didn't really represent a potential danger, The Monk pulled out a cell phone, typed something on it and showed it to Edo, revealing his nickname.

"The Monk, huh? Awesome name, dude! Say, you up for an ice cream? I'll pay."

The killer at first stared at the clueless teen but then he shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Edo grabbed his hand and the duo then ran out of the UFO.

Later that day Tiger managed to get up from the bed as most of his wounds were healed. Now he, Tamma and Luna were all sitting in the living room waiting for Tsugumi to finish her phone calls. The blonde girl seemed to have something important to communicate, as she was asking for all their old friends return to the ship. First was Hanna, then Nolan and finally Robert, though she did have problems with the latter.

"What's so important?" Robert asked in a nutshell.

"I need you at the UFO, pronto!" Tsugumi replied.

"Why? Can't you see that I'm filled with business?"

"Screw your business that can wait! But what I have can't wait not even until nightfall!"

"What the hell is so important?!"

"It's a surprise. You'll see it when you get here."

"Listen Tsugumi, I can't…"

"Oh yes you can!"

"I wonder how seeing that I am at like 1500 kilometers distance and I can choose whether to come or not…"

"Robert… if you don't want the pre-apocalypse to arrive in the next moment you will MOVE YOUR LAZY ASS HERE BEFORE I LOSE MY PATIENCE!"

"Y-yes mam…"

And so Tsugumi closed the call and then she turned to her fellow teammates who were all scared by her angry outburst. The girl sighed and looked at the clock. Two hours had passed since lunch time and she didn't have much time to waste. When she was about to look in her phone for yet another number to dial, she saw a brown haired male dressed in black clothes with red flames enter.

"Oh, just in time Blane!" Tsugumi exclaimed. "I was about to call you."

"Hey there, I noticed that you were calling all the others so I decided to show up." Blane explained.

"Wait, so this means you were still stalking us?" Tiger raised his eyebrow.

"Never mind that!" Tsugumi interrupted him and handed Blane a box. "Go to your room and change into these clothes!"

"Huh? Clothes?" Blane asked sweating.

"Yes, why did you think I wanted you all to come? I've bought us all some summer clothes!" Tsugumi explained and then she turned to Tiger, Tamma and Luna. "Tiger, Tamma, your boxes are behind the couch. Get your clothes and change into them. Luna-chan, I'm sorry but I couldn't find anything for you and Subaru."

"But what if I don't feel like…" Tiger barely spoke only to see Tsugumi staring at him with the glare of a blood thirsty predator. "I mean, yes mam, I'll change right away!"

And so Blane, Tiger and Tamma all walked out of the living room to change into their clothes. As for Luna, as she was about to ask Tsugumi what they would do, the blonde girl took her deck out and challenged her to a duel in order to kill some time. The blue haired girl accepted and both sat on a couch and played with their cards there.

"I cast Ghost Touch." Tsugumi said and discarded Hyperspatial Energy Hole from Luna's hand. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight."

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow." Luna said and drew a card.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery." the blonde girl said while revealing her top three cards which were Hyperspatial Dravita Hole, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and Jenny, the Suicide Doll. "I take all three to my hand and end."

"I summon Qurian." the blue haired girl said and drew a card. "Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break her shield!"

"I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. Show me your hand!"

The cards from Luna's hand were Unicorn Fish, Aqua Surfer, Raging Apache Lizard and Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole. Tsugumi chose to discard Bolshack Hole and then she ended her turn.

"I cast Hyperspatial Grip Blue Red Hole and put Boost, Crimson Lord into the battle zone which destroys Jenny!" Luna said and then she watched how Tsugumi put her Darkness creature in the graveyard. "Also, Grip Blue Red Hole makes my creatures unable to be blocked, so I attack with Qurian and Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break her shields!"

"I cast Hyperspatial Dravita Hole and return Aquan Jr's Delivery to my hand. Then I put Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon into the battle zone!" Tsugumi said. "I end."

"I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and put Victorious Pudding Pudding into the battle zone which makes your Saint Ave Maria unable to block! Go Boost, break her shield! Then Qurian, break her final shield!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!"

"Alright Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break her final shield!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Hot Spring Crimson Meow!"

"Oh well, I end."

Tsugumi was in a rather delicate situation. She had just one shield left and Luna had a Cebu Algol to protect her two attackers. What was worse was that her Saint Ave Maria couldn't attack them due to Pudding Pudding. That meant that she had to stall for more hoping that Luna wouldn't advance her beatdown.

"I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap Cebu Algol. Then I put Chandelier, Light Weapon and Merriane, Apostle of the Alps into the battle zone. I end."

Much to Luna's dismay, her opponent now had all three pieces of her psychic link creature. To make matters worse, she had put her Aqua Surfer into the mana zone the previous turn and thus had no way of bouncing Tsugumi's creatures. All she could do was draw and hope that she would get a Spiral Gate.

"I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards!" the blue haired girl said.

Luck didn't favor her that much though. She drew Aqua Surfer and Aqua Super Emeral. That meant that Tsugumi could awaken her creature, but at least Luna had a small defense ready.

"I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand. I end my turn." Luna announced.

"Alright Luna-chan it's time to get down to business!" Tsugumi said while uniting her three psychic creatures and then she flipped them. "Psychic Link, Crazy Carnival! Saint Chan-Merrie!"

"Oh great, here we go…" the chosen water duelist thought.

"And now I summon Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier and cast Hide and Seek!" the chosen light duelist said and then she bounced Boost back to the hyperspatial zone and discarded the last card from Luna's hand which was Red Scorpion, Electro-mech. "I end."

"Huh? Why is she not attacking? She must be planning something." Luna thought and then she drew her next card which was Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows. "Rats! Pinky, you are of no use for me now. I'm sorry, but I'll have to charge mana with you."

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top cards of Tsugumi's deck were Miraculous Snare, Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, all going to her hand.

"I cast Miraculous Snare and put Aqua Super Emeral to your shields! I end."

"There you are, coming so late!" Luna thought while staring at the one spell she drew and then she turned to Tsugumi and said. "I cast Hyperspatial Gallows Hole and send Mil Armor to your hand! Then I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser into the battle zone and end!"

"Trying to stall me, Luna-chan? Well it won't work for long!" Tsugumi announced her. "I summon Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and give -6000 to Victorious Meteor Kaiser!"

If there was one thing that all Water duelists hated, that was them lacking cards in hand. And this was right the case for poor Luna. She had to depend on the draws she would get from her deck. And now she drew a bad card once again.

"I summon Doskoi Firststar." Luna spoke with disappointment.

"Alright, Luna-chan, it's time to prepare for the end!" Tsugumi announced. "I summon Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier and evolve him into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia! Now you can't cast any more spells."

Finally fate decided to help Luna a bit as well. She drew one card that wasn't a spell and that would aid her.

"I summon Raging Apache Lizard and put Victorious Gaial Kaiser into the battle zone! Now go, Victorious Pudding Pudding, break her final shield!"

Much to Luna's surprise, Tsugumi didn't block. But that was only because the girl wanted to get a card in her hand, and to make it worse, it was a good card.

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Cebu Algol back to your hand!" Tsugumi said and thus she got rid of Luna's final blocker.

"I end." Luna sighed.

"My turn, I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards. Sweet! Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow and then I evolve it into a second Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

That was it. Luna's chances of winning had been drastically reduced.

"Saint Chan-Merrie, quadruple break her shields!" Tsugumi ordered and she saw that Luna got no shield triggers. "Queen Alcadeias, break her final shields!"

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and send the other Queen Alcadeias to your hand! Also, shield trigger, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows!" Luna responded.

"Is that all, Luna-chan?"

"I'm afraid yes, Tsugumi-chan."

"Very well, then good game! Hanzou, Menacing Phantom, todomeda!"

And so Tsugumi won the match. Right then and there she saw Nolan, Hanna and Robert step inside the living room.

"Ah, you guys have all arrived!" Tsugumi rubbed her hands.

"Oh yes, is there something the matter?" Nolan asked but then he saw a certain expression on the blonde girl's face which revealed that she was cooking up something. "Uh oh, I think I shouldn't have asked…"

In a matter of minutes everyone except for Tsugumi and Luna were sitting in the living room dressed up with new clothes. Tamma was wearing his usual sandals, a pair of beige shorts and a T shirt that was black on the left and red on the right. Tiger was lacking his hat and so everyone could see his blonde hair fully. Also he was wearing a short sleeved white T shirt which was covered by a green vest and he had the same pair of pants. Robert was wearing a short sleeved white T shirt as well, grey shorts and sandals. Also he showed signs of letting his beard slowly grow. Nolan also wore sandals and shorts and he also had a short sleeved white T shirt that was covered by a black vest while his eyes were covered by his usual glasses. And finally Hanna was wearing a black dress with a few hints of pink, purple boots and she also had her blue hair arranged in two pony tails.

"You all look marvelous!" Tsugumi exclaimed and before anyone could comment she took off her clothes in front of them to reveal a short red summer dress and red high heels. "Now summer can really begin!"

"Well since you all have changed your looks; I think it's only fair that I did the same." Luna said and then she took off her glasses for the first time they knew her and she put two eye contacts on instead. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful!" Tiger complimented her, happy to be able to admire her blue eyes after so many years without the hindrance of the glasses.

"This is going to be one interesting summer…" Robert commented.

"I concur." Nolan added.

"Hey guys I'm back!" Edo said while entering the living room only to find everyone with their clothes changed. "Wow, what did I miss?"

"Your new outfit dumby!" Tsugumi replied and then she grabbed Edo along with a box and she dragged them out of the living room.

"Poor Edo." Tamma remarked.

"Meh, he deserves it." Tiger countered.

Later that day Subaru returned to the UFO. He grimly walked through its halls, passing everyone and saluting none, almost as if they didn't exist to him. Once he found himself in his room, he entered the bathroom, filled the bathtub with hot water, pulled off all of his clothes and got in the bath.

At first he put his head inside the water to wet his hair, and then he took the shampoo and began to wash it correspondingly. Afterwards he took the soap and cleaned every inch of his body and when he was done with that he simply stopped and stared at his own image in the water. While doing so, due to the steam, he felt that he was looking at someone else, as if the one that was represented in the water was not him, Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist. But who else could it be then? Only he knew the answer. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned back as the steam in the bathroom was making the atmosphere more relaxing and was also pulling him into the state of sleep.

A noise then suddenly woke him up. The door opened and Tsugumi entered the room looking all worried.

"Subaru, sorry to bother you, I heard that you ignored everyone when you came back, something which is not usual for you. Is something the matter?"

"Tsugumi… I have been at Doctor Root's home to see what was in that CD he left me. And quite frankly, what I've discovered was rather shocking." Subaru responded.

"Huh? What did you discover there?" Tsugumi curiously asked.

"A truth that was hidden from me for so much time, something that totally changed my world when I heard it." the black haired boy said and then he looked at his lover with tears falling down from his eyes. "Help me, Tsugumi! My whole life might have been a lie and I'm not sure who I am anymore!"

"Don't say that!" the blonde girl replied and she walked to the bath tub and embraced her naked wet lover. "Whatever happens, remember that I'll always be here for you and that you'll always have a home and family here! Never forget that!"

"Tsugumi… thank you!" Subaru sobbed and hugged the girl back.


	56. Decayed Angel

Somewhere in the center of the city, in a place that was rarely visited by people, a small church was lying, its construction not very imposing. Inside it was decorated with burning candles and pictures of various figures from the Christian mythos such as the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus Christ or the crucifixion of the Christ and so on. At one side of the building was the entrance and at the opposing side there was a wall filled with small painted icons that separated the altar from the rest of the church. Even though there were no singers inside, there were some low voiced chants echoing almost as if the spirits were having their own ceremonial.

A tall brown haired man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black bowtie entered holding a briefcase. He looked around the building admiring its paintings but in the same time being afraid of the shadows that were made by the objects in the light of the burning candles. That was when he realized that the church had no electricity turned on and that the flames of the candles were the only ones bringing light. Looking towards the altar, he found a black robed monk lying on his knees and praying in front of a painting with the Virgin Mary.

"Ce lieu scares me. C'est tres sombre. I wonder if my seller is here." the Frenchman said and then he pulled out his phone and made a call.

All of a sudden the ringing of another phone resounded inside the building. The French business man turned his head to the altar and saw the monk getting up and taking a cell phone out of the robe, closing the call.

"Oh, so you were here all along. Tres bien, mon ami! It was about time we met!" the man said and approached the monk with the briefcase. "Say, what was your name again? The Monk?" he asked and received a nod as a response. "Beau nom, oui? Very well, monsieur Monk, shall we begin notre affaire?" he suggested and received another nod in response. "Bien, show me the Proof of Duelmaster, your side of the bargain."

The Monk searched in a pocket and pulled out with his right hand a gem that was shaped like an egg, had a dragon symbol on and which was shining with all the colors of the rainbow changing them quick. The business man took it and after inspecting it a bit he turned back to his seller and declared:

"Nous avons une probleme!"

The Monk shrugged his shoulders.

"Ce bijou n'est pas le Proof of Duelmaster." The Frenchman continued. "I am sorry, but what you brought me is the second Proof, the one that has Devil Diabolos Zeta sealed inside, if you have heard about how the chosen duelists had defeated that guy Kaizer. Je suis desole, mais je ne peu pas offrir les argents."

The French business man turned around and headed towards the exit but then The Monk rushed at him and grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with his right hand. The poor man struggled to escape his clutches but in the end The Monk managed to reveal his neck and stab it with his sharp silver claws that were dipped in viper venom.

"_I have not revealed this to anyone but a hundred years ago I was the personal doctor of the Geki family. Compared to my work at the hospital, I was gaining much more from Mutsuhito Geki. The man may have been a tyrant but he knew how to pay those that helped him. With the money that I gained from the Geki family, I was able to develop my researches more. But leaving that aside, I want to tell you that I was the one who personally took care of your mother during her pregnancy, and most importantly, I was the one who assisted and helped your mother give birth. Yes Subaru, I was there when you were born."_

Subaru opened his eyes and admired the twilight in the sky as the rocket taxi he was in was flying above the Pacific Ocean. The chosen duelist rubbed his eyes and took a better look around. He had fallen asleep during the trip and in his dream he was remembering doctor Root and what he had said to him in that CD. Yes, it was that secret that kept haunting him. That was the reason why Subaru volunteered to be the one that visited Hakuoh to inform him about the situation with The Monk. He needed something to get his mind off what had happened over the last few days.

"Um sir, how much is it until we get there?" he asked the driver.

"About five minutes." the response came.

The black haired teenager closed his eyes and sighed. It seemed that he had slept for most of the trip. But he knew that he needed that nap for hard days once again waited for him and his friends, so he had to be ready at his highest potential.

In a matter of minutes Subaru found himself on the shores of a tropical island. After paying the taxi driver he turned his sights to the rebuilt temple of Devil Diabolos Zeta that was still sitting majestically on the top of the hill. Now the temple was made of metal and thus was shining more in the light of the sun, even though the star was setting off the sky. But that was all that Hakuoh managed to change during the past months. Besides rebuilding the temple, he didn't manage to change the environment in any way to make it more welcoming. In other words, he still had a long way to go to the accomplishment of his dream: a new training temple for future duelists.

Subaru walked through the sandy beach, reaching the hill in a matter of minutes. While climbing the temple's stairs he remembered how he faced Kaizer and the battle that they had at the exact same place. Only a few months had passed and yet he started to feel old. And for no good reason, because he knew that his body was still filled with youth and his mission was not over. Still, he could feel the passing of time and knew that he was helpless to stop it.

And so Subaru woke up from his thoughts as he reached the entrance to the temple. At the opened doors a tall male with long blonde hair caught in a pony tail and a white Italian suit was waiting for him. It was none other than Hakuoh and he looked as presentable as always.

"I am glad that you've made it in time, Subaru." the teacher said to the less presentable teen.

Yes, Subaru was wearing his usual short sleeved black T shirt with the symbol of the Darkness civilization and his dark blue jeans.

"It's been a long time, Hakuoh-sama." Subaru replied and shook hands with Hakuoh.

"Come in, we have a lot to talk." the blonde suggested and thus the two entered the building.

Subaru noticed that even on the inside things had changed. The corridors were no longer made of stone but metal. To keep the beauty of the temple Hakuoh decided to have holograms that depicted scenes from the creature world's history on the walls since the paintings were old and worn off. The altar was the only part of the temple that had been kept the same since Hakuoh viewed it as the place where the final battle against Kaizer and Devil Diabolos Zeta happened and wanted to keep it as a historical monument.

After they passed the altar, they entered an office that was a large room decorated with paintings which represented the leaders of the five civilizations, two red couches near the left and right walls, a small fountain in a corner, a large palm tree in the opposing corner, two packs of drawers near the two couches and a large desk near the back wall which had a computer, paper and writing supplies. Also, there was a TV screen hanging above the desk. The office had three windows, all with stained glass representing three incarnations of the Hero of Light: Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits on the left, King Alcadeias, Holy Gaia on the right and Alphadios, Lord of Spirits behind the desk.

Hakuoh sat at his own desk looking at the computer while Subaru stood on his feet in front of him.

"So what has been happening back in town while I was gone?" Hakuoh asked.

"Lots." Subaru immediately answered. "I don't know where to begin."

"How about with what happened after the assassination of Boris?"

"Good idea. While I was investigating the place of the crime with Tsugumi and Luna, Tiger took off on his own to find the murderer. He sensed that whoever did it used viper venom and he sniffed it until he found an old apartment. There he waited for the killer until the middle of the night. That's when he came home only to find him and the two faced each other. It seems that this character, this Monk as he likes calling himself, has a pretty snide way of dueling."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that he defeated Tiger by not breaking at least one shield. And the only way one could win like that is either by using Ultimate Galaxy Universe or…"

"Or milling their opponent's deck!"

"Exactly, Hakuoh-sama, that's what happened. The Monk spammed Volg Thunder in the battle zone many times and targeted Tiger's deck, milling it like no tomorrow."

"A Volg Thunder deckout deck… I have only heard of that kind of strategy but never in my life did I see anyone abuse this psychic creature." Hakuoh confessed.

"Indeed, it was shocking even for me, the chosen duelist who uses Volg Thunder." Subaru replied with irony coming from his voice. "Anyway, after that he dressed up Tiger in a suit similar to his and sent him back at our UFO to scare us. Luckily we didn't fall for that prank and took Tiger to the hospital room. But little did we know that while we were concerned for our friend's life, The Monk sneaked inside our spaceship and stole the second Proof of Duelmaster."

"Oh no!" Hakuoh exclaimed and put his right hand on his heart.

"Don't worry; he was after the first Proof so thank goodness he didn't get his hands on it." Subaru assured him. "Besides, we announced the police about our problem and they are trying their best to track down him."

"I see. And what was the reason you came here? You could have just told me these via video chat."

"You see, Hakuoh-sama, The Monk has just committed his second murder."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, he killed a French business man in a church from our city. The reason I came here is because we need your help in investigating this problem before it gets out of hand and more people are killed!"

"I see." Hakuoh said while getting up from his desk. "But in order to have me help you guys, first I want to see how much you have evolved as a duelist in the past months!"

"I see where you're aiming." Subaru grinned while taking his deck out. "Let's do this!"

Hakuoh clapped his hands and made two dueling tables rise from the floor. The two duelists walked to them, put their cards on them and thus began their match.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Hakuoh said and then he drew two cards and discarded Codenight Rice Shower.

"Huh? You are using Darkness? This is a new one coming from you." Subaru commented but received no response. "Oh well, I also cast Emergency Typhoon." He continued and drew two cards, discarding Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top cards of Hakuoh's deck were Primal Scream, Codenight Congratulation and Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast. All were either Darkness or Light so they all went to his hand.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and the black haired Duel Hero dressed in a dark blue suit with a red tie and black cape appeared by his side.

"Wow, you're dueling against the great Hakuoh? How fabulous!" Atsuto exclaimed while drawing two cards for his master. "Say, do you have any hopes of defeating him?"

"I don't know, but all that I want is to show him how much I have evolved." Subaru answered to his friend.

"Very well, then let's see how I can help you in that regard!" Atsuto replied and then he discarded Aqua Naruto Surfer and Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger from Subaru's hand.

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Hakuoh said and a two headed lion that had its left half look like a golden lion and its right half like a skeleton lion with a black mane appeared by his side and roared at both Subaru and Atsuto.

"That thing doesn't look too fabulous!" Atsuto commented.

"Don't worry, it won't scare us!" Subaru replied and showed a Fire card. "I summon Super Go On Pippi!"

A bird of fire that was wearing green sunglasses on its forehead appeared flying above Subaru and Atsuto, chirping happily at their opponents.

"I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!" Hakuoh said and then a green and golden armored demonic angel with an eye in its chest and a sharp round sword in its right hand descended into the field.

"Alright, it's time to show you what I truly am made of!" Subaru declared while showing a Darkness spell to his opponent. "I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A horned knight dressed in a purple armor with a red cape, with an X scar on his chest and two yellow laser guns in his hands appeared behind Subaru and made another Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff card fly out of his deck into the graveyard. Subaru graciously tapped his Zero Romanoff card and said:

"I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A second knight appeared and by its effect another Miracle Re Born came out of Subaru's deck and landed in his graveyard. Then the first knight fired two lasers from his guns which broke two of Hakuoh's shields. The shield shards quickly united into two cards and he showed one of them to Subaru and said:

"Shield trigger, I cast Wedding Gate and by its effect I put Codenight Bouquet Toss and Codenight Congratulation into the battle zone!"

A black winged purple armored angel with a blue and a purple crystal appeared behind Hakuoh alongside a black winged grey armored angel that had guns instead of fingers.

"With Codenight Congratulation's effect I put one of my shields to the graveyard and you will have to destroy two of your creatures!" Hakuoh said and then he put a shield which was Bone Dance Charger to his graveyard and watched how Subaru sacrificed his Atsuto and the tapped Zero Romanoff. "Also, since I have two shields left, Codenight Bouquet Toss makes all of my Darkness Angel Commands into blockers!"

"Still, Super Go On Pippi makes all of my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, so I attack with my second Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive Aqua Naruto Surfer!" Subaru said and then a blue shark headed humanoid with yellow wings that was riding a dark blue crystal surfboard appeared behind him and screeched. "Go Snipy, send those ugly Angel Commands back where they belong!"

Snipy screeched once again and then using his arm blades he hit both decayed angels and made them disappear, their cards going back into Hakuoh's hand. Then Zero Romanoff aimed his guns at Hakuoh's last two shields and blasted them into smithereens.

"Shield trigger, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Super Go On Pippi!" Hakuoh said and then a black gate appeared and opened revealing dark purple tentacles that grabbed the fire bird and crushed it. "My turn, I summon Bega, Vizier of Decay!"

A new shield appeared above Hakuoh's table and then Subaru discarded Inferno Sign.

"I attack with Auzesu and by its effect I destroy your Zero Romanoff!" Hakuoh said and then Auzesu swung his sword and slashed the knight into pieces. "Go Auzesu, double break his shields!"

The demonic angel fired a laser from the eye in his chest and took down two of Subaru's shields. Then Hakuoh ended his turn. Now Subaru was in a delicate situation. Besides Aqua Naruto Surfer he had no other creatures in the battle zone while Hakuoh had regained control with his Ashliger, Bega and Auzesu. His only option was to keep attacking him, hoping that he would lose before he would get out more of his creatures.

"I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Bega! Then I put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!" Subaru said and then a red armored dragon wielding two flaming swords appeared by his side. "Go, Victorious Gaial Kaiser, break his final shield!"

The dragon flew towards Hakuoh and with just a swing his last shield was turned into pieces. However the shield shards quickly united into a card which shined with a purple light and which he showed to Subaru saying:

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit and destroy Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

"No, Snipy!" Subaru exclaimed as two black demonic hands grabbed his creature and crushed it.

"And now I cast Wedding Gate and put Codenight Bouquet Toss and Codenight June Bride into the battle zone!" Hakuoh said and the same purple armored angel returned, this time followed by a purple winged dark angel wielding a red trident. "Codenight Bouquet Toss makes all of my Darkness Angel Commands blockers, so let's see you pass this! Also, Auzesu, destroy Victorious Gaial Kaiser!"

The demonic angel attacked the red armored dragon and slashed him into bits, making him explode. With two powerful blockers, it didn't matter that Hakuoh was shield less. Next turn he would attack Subaru and win. The chosen duelist was pushed in a very extreme situation and the only way he could escape it was by managing to win that turn. But none of the cards from his hand were what he needed. Only a miracle would bring him the victory. And luckily, that miracle came, for his hand began to glow with purple kaijudo energy. Hakuoh raised an eyebrow as Subaru drew his next card and showed it to him while declaring:

"Your time is up, Hakuoh! I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Codenight June Bride!"

"Oh no!" Hakuoh exclaimed as his dark angel got devoured by the same tentacles that came from the black gate.

"And then I revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!" Subaru continued and the purple knight jumped out of the gate and made a Miracle Re Born fall into his owner's graveyard. "Then I fortify one of my shields with Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress which makes my Zero Romanoff a speed attacker! Go, Zero Romanoff, attack and cast Hades Death Gate!"

The black gate opened its doors yet again and this time its tentacles preyed upon Hakuoh's Codenight Bouquet Toss. As a bonus, the gate also revived Subaru's fallen Super Go On Pippi. Lacking any form of defense, it seemed that the game was over for Hakuoh.

"Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, todomeda!" Subaru ordered and the knight fired a laser gun which threw Hakuoh against the wall.

A few moments after the duel ended Subaru walked to the defeated Hakuoh and helped him up. He had a few scratches but he was alright. The chosen duelist began packing up the blonde's cards almost as if nothing happened between them a few minutes ago.

"Impressive match, I daresay! You have progressed since the last time I faced you." Hakuoh remarked.

"It's nothing, really. Those giant Angel Commands of yours scared me at first. I'm still surprised that I had the luck of using Hades Death Gate on them." Subaru replied while still picking up the cards.

"Yes, in this game it's all a matter of luck. One card can determine the fate of the whole match."

"That's true. So Hakuoh-sama, what do you have to say about my offer?"

"I must say that I was truly impressed by your skills and that I think that the rest of my students are in good hands! That being said, I will gladly help you in your search for The Monk!" Hakuoh announced and then Subaru turned to him and with a smile offered his deck back.

"I knew we could count on you, Hakuoh-sama!" Subaru said happily.

Instead of taking the deck Hakuoh grabbed Subaru's hand and the two shook hands yet again as the sun finally set in the distant west.

Meanwhile at the shores of the island another rocket taxi landed and this time two teenagers dressed in school uniforms got out of it. One of them offered some money to the driver and after he took off the duo turned their heads to the imposing temple that was reigning over the island from the top of its hill. Smiling, the two began to slowly walk to it.


	57. Crack

And so the discussions went by in the office, the teacher and the former student debating possible ways of capturing the criminal. Subaru gave Hakuoh some of Luna's studies on the psychology of the murderer, explaining in detail the causes that determined one to kill their fellow man. But so far their biggest problem was finding out what The Monk wanted to do with the Proof. What would a normal human want to do with a gem that had infinite power? Maybe the one they were facing was not an ordinary human being or even a human to begin with. The more they delved into the problem, the more the number of questions rose. However one thing was certain: The Monk was different from all other villains they had faced before; he or she lacked supernatural powers, lacked minions, but orchestrated their plans carefully, paying attention to each details and making sure to not leave one clue for their foes. That meant that this new menace had to be taken care of by the means of new methods such as intuition, intelligence, virtues that not all chosen duelists made use of, thus making the situation more difficult for them.

The discussion of the two was then interrupted by knocks on the office's door. While Subaru was wondering who could have possibly come at that time of the night, Hakuoh seemed to know what was going on as he went to open it like a host. When the door opened, the silhouettes of two teenage boys were revealed. One was brown haired, wore a brown suit with a red tie, had his left eye green and his right one red and his hair was brown. The other wore a dark blue suit, had his left eye blue and his right one yellow and his short hair was green.

"It was about time you two came!" Hakuoh said and welcomed the two inside.

"Wally, Spunky, what a surprise!" Subaru exclaimed upon seeing them. "I must confess I didn't expect to see two of Hakuoh-sama's best students join us."

"Indeed it has been a long time Subaru Geki, chosen darkness duelist and reckless emo guy." the brown haired replied and made his interlocutor sweat. "Did you really think that I would forget the days that you spent in Hakuoh-sama's class always rebelling against our beloved teacher for whatever reasons?"

"Um Wally, this might not actually be the time…" Hakuoh tried to interrupt him.

"Looking at how noobish your decks were back then, I am still surprised of how the heck you managed to somehow defeat Hakuoh-sama. It's truly a mystery that will probably forever remain hidden in the secret files of Duel Masters paradoxes." Wally concluded.

"Your smart mouth hasn't changed a bit…" Subaru sighed.

"You do know that he was suffering of amnesia back then, right?" Hakuoh asked.

"Indeed, and now that he got his memories back, hopefully his decks are maybe a little better than those that he had back then. Gosh, how could anyone make Darkness decks that sucked so much?" Wally commented and he made Subaru sweat in shame even more.

"Leaving that aside, it is indeed a great honor meeting you again, Subaru." the green haired added and he shook hands with the black haired chosen duelist.

"The feeling's the same, Spunky." Subaru replied. "So what brings you two here?"

"We have been called by Hakuoh-sama to aid him with a problem." Wally explained.

"But what this problem is, we do not know yet." Spunky added.

"Boys, the problem is a mass murderer that is known as The Monk." Hakuoh said. "I chose you two to help us because you are two of my strongest and smartest duelists, probably only topped by Luna."

"I see. But before that, Hakuoh-sama, would you mind if we dueled?" Wally asked while taking out his deck. "I have updated this little baby and would like to see how it works."

"Haha, same here old buddy!" Spunky intervened and showed his deck as well. "How about we both duel and see whose deck is better?"

"Sure, you two may duel and we will judge how good you are." Hakuoh said and then he pulled Subaru towards his desk so that they would kaijudo duel.

The blonde teacher clapped his hands and two dueling tables rose from the floor. The duelists sat at them, set their cards on, deployed their five shields and thus their match had begun.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy it." Spunky said and then a green haired fairy wearing a black hat and a brown dress appeared above him and quickly exploded, making the top card of his deck which was Aqua Surfer land into his mana zone.

"I summon Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess." Wally said and then a water princess with jelly fish hair and two black ghostly fishes appeared by his side and revealed the top two cards from Spunky's deck which were Pulpy Goobie and Babelginus, Demonic Dragon. "I send Pulpy Goobie to your graveyard and end."

"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

A green horse like warrior wielding a giant fork appeared by Spunky's side and made the top card of his deck which was Raging Apache Lizard go to his mana zone.

"I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon!" Wally said while showing a Light spell.

"That spell makes all of Wally's shields turn into shield triggers until the end of his next turn!" Subaru remarked.

"Indeed, and I have a vague idea of what he might be cooking up." Hakuoh replied.

"What might that be exactly?"

"Think Subaru, he has a Splash Queen in his battle zone and he also casted Memories of the Planetary Dragon. Doesn't that ring a bell?"

"Oh no, you mean he's using…"

"My turn, I summon Orochi, of the Hidden Blade! With its effect I send Bronze-Arm Tribe to the bottom of my deck." Spunky said and the green horse like warrior disappeared, its card going under the other pile of cards that constituted his deck. "Then I reveal the top cards of my deck until I reach a non-evolution creature and I put that creature in the battle zone!"

Towards Wally's shock, the top card of Spunky's was Cyber G Hogan.

"Perfect, I summon Cyber G Hogan!" Spunky exclaimed and then a giant blue robot with a glass for a face and wielding a giant black boulder appeared behind him. "Heh, Chain Cascade, I reveal the top two cards of my deck and if they're creatures that cost less than Cyber G Hogan I may put them in the battle zone!"

The top two cards of Spunky's deck were Kiryu Jilves, Gaia's Roar and Come On Pippi. Since both had their cost less than Hogan's both, landed in the battle zone and through Come On Pippi's effect Spunky also brought Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone. The sapphire hunter dragon roared loudly at Wally who didn't seem really impressed even though Subaru and Hakuoh were amazed of Spunky's performance. The green haired teen grinned at his opponent and continued:

"Heh, Kiryu Jilves makes all of my creatures speed attackers, so say your prayers! Go Victorious Meteor Kaiser, double break his shields!"

The dragon flew towards the brown haired teen and swung the fire sword with its tail, slashing two shields with it. But the shield shards quickly turned into two cards that floated in the air above Wally and shined brightly at Spunky.

"That fool! He forgot that Memories of the Planetary Dragon made Wally's shields become shield triggers until the end of his next turn!" Subaru exclaimed.

"Yes, he rushed hoping that he would win but he forgot that in the type of deck that Wally is using shields play an important role." Hakuoh added.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Lost Soul!" Wally said and made Spunky discard his last card which was Cyber N World. "Also shield trigger, I summon Jelly, Dazzling Electro-Princess and draw a card."

"Tsh, Cyber G Hogan, double break his shields!" Spunky continued and the robot swung its bulldozer and smashed two more of Wally's shields which once again turned into shining cards.

"Shield trigger, I summon Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence"!" Wally said and a blue and green demon with weapons on his shoulders that made him look like an electric flower appeared behind him and allowed him to draw five cards. "And once again I got a shield trigger, DNA Spark!"

A light shaped like a helix fell upon Spunky's table and tapped his Come On Pippi and Kiryu Jilves cards. Then Wally gained a new shield.

"It seems that he has finally gained control of the zone." Subaru said.

"But what's worse is yet to come." Hakuoh replied as he saw Wally place a Water card on top of his multicolored one.

"Evolution! Bella become Marshall Queen!" Wally said and then a blue mermaid dressed in a pink dress, with a sea shell covering her red haired head appeared by his side. "And now it's time to show you the beauty of my creature – she allows me to put three cards from my hand to my shields and then return three shields to my hand and use their shield trigger ability."

"So what's the big deal about it? It's not like you got a hand full of shield triggers, now do you?" Spunky asked.

"Of course not, but did you forget that the effect of my Memories of the Planetary Dragon spell has not worn off yet?"

"It hasn't?!"

"No, and this will signal your demise!"

Wally selected three cards from his hand and placed them on his shield zone. Then he revealed each of those three and put them on the battle zone while saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Suspense, Zenith of "Curse", Wedding, Zenith of "Celebration" and Spell Del Fin, Light Divine Dragon!"

A white bat winged demon with two draconic heads that breathed out fire, a skeletal head in the middle of the other two and six colored crystals flying around it appeared in the battle zone.

"With Suspense's effect I choose two of your shields and you'll have to reveal them to me. I'll cast a spell from them and then put the rest to your graveyard." Wally explained and then he pointed to two of Spunky's shields which were revealed as Olzekia, General of Decapitation and Eureka Program. "Perfect, I cast Eureka Program and destroy Radio Roses which goes back to my hand due to Eternal Omega!"

Radio Roses blew up and then Wally began to reveal the top cards of his deck. First was Cosmo Politan, then came Submarine Fortress Lair, afterwards Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life", then Malibu Dancer and finally he revealed a second Wedding, Zenith of "Celebration" which had its cost bigger than Radio Roses' by one. Two priest-like creatures with angel wings, dressed in giant white robes and with six colored crystals floating around them appeared in the battle zone. Then both Eureka Program and Olzekia fell into Spunky's graveyard, making him lose two shields.

"With the effects of both my Weddings I send all of your creatures to your shields!" Wally said and then Spunky watched with horror how his Victorious Meteor Kaiser returned to his hyperspatial zone and then how his Kiryu Jilves, Come On Pippi and Cyber G Hogan all disappeared and turned into three new shields. "And finally, Spell Del Fin won't allow you to cast any spells and makes you reveal your hand to me!"

"Tsh…" Spunky murmured as he drew his next card which was Bolbalzak Ex. "I charge mana and end. But don't you worry; I still got six shields to protect me thanks to you!"

"Actually this was my plan the whole time!" Wally replied with a snide smile. "Go Wedding send three of his shields to the graveyard!"

Spunky's jaw dropped as he saw how the priest like Zenith waved its hands and made its crystals fire three beams that destroyed three of his shields and made his Cyber G Hogan, Come On Pippi and Kiryu Jilves fall into his graveyard. Then the other priest like Zenith did the same thing and his last three shields which were Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force and Aqua Surfer also disappeared into the grave.

"Suspense, Zenith of "Curse", todomeda!" Wally gave the finishing blow.

After the match ended the duo cleaned up their mess and then they joined Hakuoh and Subaru in their work. The chosen darkness duelist explained to them everything regarding The Monk and his actions. Then Hakuoh also showed all three of them on his computer all the information that police sites had about the criminal, regarding his ways of operating during a murder, the choices for the crime's place, and the ways of killing and so on. They discovered that The Monk was killing people by injecting deadly venom into their bodies. In Boris' case it was injected through his forehead while in the French business man's case it was injected through his neck. It also seemed that The Monk preferred lonely areas for killing his victims. Both the jewel shop and the church were located near the center of the city which was rather poor and was not visited by people at night. Also Subaru added that The Monk enjoyed toying with his victims as shown by the prank that was pulled upon the chosen duelists with Tiger being dressed up as the murderer. After gathering up all the information they had, Hakuoh began to draw some conclusions:

"So let us recap: What we have here is a sadistic murderer that loves toying with his victims, killing them in lone places at night, sending riddles to torture others, play pranks on his victims and desires to get the Proof of Duelmaster."

"Indeed this is all that we know of this character so far." Wally approved.

"Let's not forget that The Monk also has a website!" Spunky added.

"Of course, The Monk's website, how could that slip my mind?" Hakuoh said while typing at the computer searching for the killer's website. "We could find valuable information from it!"

"The site is pretty big Hakuoh-sama, it will take a while." Subaru commented.

"Don't worry about that boys, I will handle it. Meanwhile I have special assignments for you all." Hakuoh said with his teacher voice. "Wally, I want you to make sure that the temple's new security system is fully operational. Spunky, I want you to go back to the school and bring me all the documents from my office desk. Subaru, you go call the chosen duelists and tell them all to come here pronto!"

The three boys nodded and then they all left Hakuoh's office. The blonde teacher returned to his research and looked through the pages of The Monk's site. Sadly for him all he could find were accounts of his crimes which were told to be fiction for an upcoming 'movie' and fan mail that the murderer received. Hakuoh also saw a list of horror movie scenes that were inspirational for The Monk. What's more, he even found a thread in which he was discussing with his duelist fans the best ways to abuse Volg Thunder.

"No doubt this Monk character is a popular figure on the internet. But even so, I will track him down!" Hakuoh said and then he turned on a program on his computer that would hack the killer's site and find out where its recent update came from.

Meanwhile at the beach Subaru was discussing on the phone with Blane.

"So yeah dude, think that you can get the others here?" Subaru asked while staring at the blackened ocean upon which the moon's rays were falling.

"Maybe later dude, right now I've got some of my own problems!" Blane replied while trying to hide in a wardrobe.

"What kind of problems?"

"Your crazy girlfriend is going to kill me for not trying on her new 'summer clothes'."

"What? Summer clothes? Tsugumi never told me anything about that."

"It's a long story. Anyway I'll try to get us all there in a couple of hours. Torch can fly us all there."

"Ok but tell Tsugumi to lock the UFO while you are away. I wouldn't want to have anyone sneaking inside anymore."

"Alright dude, got it!"

But just as Blane closed his phone the doors of the wardrobe opened and revealed an angered Tsugumi. Before the brown haired male could react she grabbed his black shirt and threw him on her bed. Sweating and hoping that she was not too angry he waved his hand and said:

"Hehe, hi Tsugumi?"

"You take off your clothes right now!" the blonde girl demanded.

"WHAT?!" Blane shouted and widened his eyes shocked.

"You got some new clothes to try on." Tsugumi concluded and took out a box.

"Fuck my life…" the boy thought.

Back at the island, having made sure that the security system in the temple was fully operational, Wally headed out on the beach and met up with Subaru who was admiring the starry summer night sky.

"The whole temple is finally secured like Hakuoh-sama requested. What about you and Spunky?" Wally asked.

"Spunky just left with a rocket taxi fifteen minutes ago and the chosen duelists should be here until tomorrow." Subaru answered.

"I see. Well Subaru, how has life been ever since you left our school? Last time I saw you was at the tournament."

"Oh nothing new happened. Just got some new teammates and together we saved the world yet again from an armored evil genius."

"I see, just another ordinary day in the lives of the chosen duelists."

"Haha, it seems that these are the 'ordinary' things we get into."

"Indeed. So tell me, do you actually think you can defeat The Monk? This guy seems like a really powerful and intelligent foe. I fear it might be too much for you and your team since it's not the ordinary world conquering villain that you are used to."

"I don't care, Wally. If I could, I would mock The Monk right in his face."

"Oh how smart! You wish to have The Monk turn you into tiny chosen duelist pieces?"

"But what do you want me to do? Bow in front of him? Accept the terror that he wants to install upon my city? That's what you want me to do? Well no! Neither I or the other chosen duelists will bow to anybody!"

"Subaru, for God's sake, stop being prideful! You should meditate on this whole situation… Try to understand how much you are all risking! Your lives are in stake."

"Wally, please try to understand that I am the oldest of the chosen duelists and I have to set an example for my teammates! I swear to you on my whole team that I will not lose this war against The Monk! I swear it!"

While Subaru and Wally were having their small argument, Hakuoh had finally found out where The Monk's website was last updated. Upon receiving this information he had finally concluded his search.

"That's it; I now know who The Monk is!" Hakuoh said while getting up from his chair. "I've got to tell the others before it's too late!"

And so the blonde dressed in a white Italian suit left his office and headed towards the exit of the temple. But little did he know that after Wally left the security room a stranger with black gloves came and stopped the security system so that they could enter the building without problem. That person was none other than The Monk and the murderer had spied upon Hakuoh while he was all alone. Now the criminal was following Hakuoh keeping a few feet distance and making slow steps so that he wouldn't hear him.

When Hakuoh finally reached the opened doors of the temple and could see the starry sky and Subaru and Wally on the beach discussing, The Monk rushed to him and grabbed him from behind covering his mouth with his right hand and pulling him towards the closest stained glass window with his left hand. Ironically, the window depicted a scene of Gaga Alcadeias and Ballom Hunter facing each other in their eternal battle, the golden angelic Alien lying on a brown cloud with his long snake like tongue out and with his left claw reaching at his opponent, the grey goat demon with an X scar on his chest flying above the angel with his sharp sword ready for an attack.

"No! Help!" Hakuoh tried to scream but The Monk's hand wouldn't let him.

The Monk revealed the victim's neck and in the next moment the poisoned silver claws were penetrating his flesh. After a few seconds the killer let go of him and both were face to face. Hakuoh was breathing hard and he covered the wound on his neck while giving his attacker a fierce stare.

"I will tell everyone that it's you…" he gasped. "I will tell them that The Monk is…"

Before the blonde teacher could finish his sentence, The Monk pushed him hard against the glass and had him break through it and fall from the temple all the way to the bottom of the hill. By the time he reached it, he was dead.


	58. Great Sadness

Blane scratched his head growling. He still didn't like the fact that Tsugumi had forced him to change his clothing just like he didn't care for the fact that it was summer and he had to fit into the 'trend'. And just to ultimately prove his ignorance of the season's heat, he had let his hair grow back longer than before in those past six months and now it was really big with a pony tail at the back.

"Tsh, it will take me some time to get used with these things." he commented while looking at his clothes that consisted of a short grey sleeveless shirt, red shorts with the symbol of the nature civilization and black and white sneakers. "At least these sneakers are almost identical as the cool ones that Subaru wears."

Blane turned his back to see Edo, Tsugumi, Luna, Tiger and Tamma sleeping peacefully on the back of his Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win". It was one hard night for him and Torch as they both had to carry all the chosen duelists to the island of Hakuoh. The reason they couldn't just fly with their UFO was because The Monk had threatened to cause harm to Hakuoh's school if they left the city. However if the UFO was left parked at the outskirts of the city and they would secretly leave at night then nobody would suspect them.

"Master, is there something bothering you?" Torch softly asked so that he wouldn't bother the sleeping chosen duelists.

"Nah, it's nothing."

"Master, I know you better than that. I can sense that something is wrong with you."

"Let's just say that I'm afraid this Monk guy is going to spill a lot of blood. And when it comes to that…" Blane said while looking at the sleeping heroes. "…I wouldn't want to see any of them suffer the same fate those two guys had. I swore I would protect them, and I will do so!"

"Master, forgive me for being a little indiscrete, but doesn't your concern about The Monk have something to do with Leona too?"

"One is a murderer; the other is repenting from her ways. It has nothing to do with her."

"How do you know about that exactly?"

Torch's question made Blane blush a bit and he turned his head away from the creature and looked at the starry sky without giving an answer.

"Could it be that you still feel something for her?" Torch insisted.

"SHUT UP ALREADY, STUPID LIZARD!" Blane yelled and punched Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" in the head.

"Hey, hey, some of us are trying to sleep here, douches!" Tiger shouted at both making them sweat with embarrassment.

But little did they know that what awaited them at the temple would have a great impact upon them. By sunrise Torch had finally landed at the shores and everyone woke up. The creature reverted to its card form and went back in Blane's deck. Then the group started wandering on the island.

"That's weird, nobody came to welcome us." Tsugumi remarked.

"Maybe they are all tired after doing so many studies." Luna suggested.

"It's highly dubious. Even if he's tired, Hakuoh-sama would still send us someone to greet us into the temple." Tiger commented while rubbing his chin. "Something is fishy."

"Oh, that's me, I ate sushi for dinner!" Tamma raised his hand.

"No, something ELSE is fishy!" Tiger continued.

"The ocean around us? We already knew that." Edo added.

"Morons." Tiger thought and sighed.

Understanding the message from Tiger's words, Blane took out his sheath which contained his sword and made a few steps back from the chosen duelists to guard their backs.

After walking a few minutes they reached the cliff upon which lied the new temple of Duel Masters. But at its lap sitting in front of something that was covered by a black sheet were Subaru and Wally.

"Subaru, we're here!" Tsugumi shouted.

The chosen darkness duelist turned to his friends and they noticed the grim expression on his face. Tiger immediately deduced that something was definitely wrong so he rushed to him before Tsugumi could hug him and said:

"What happened here? I need to know." Tiger demanded.

"Sheesh Tiger, couldn't you wait a bit?" Tsugumi complained.

"This is something delicate and we don't have time for birds and bees!" Tiger countered and then he turned to Subaru. "So, what's going on here?"

"See for yourself." Subaru sorrowfully replied while pointing to the black covers.

The blonde male leaned down to the thing that was lying on the sand and gulping he slowly uncovered the black sheets. When he saw what it was, his yellow eyes widened, his jaw dropped and his breath stopped for a few seconds.

It was the dead body of Hakuoh. Blood was falling from the back of his head, indicating that he had a hard landing, and there were two marks on his neck.

The reactions from the group appeared immediately. Upon seeing her dead teacher Luna fainted and was grabbed by a crying Tsugumi. Tamma was rather confused as he did not understand what was going on around him. Tiger got up from the dead body and turned to Subaru and Wally to see that they did not shed any tears. That meant that they had found out about his death earlier than them, which was rather logical considering that they were both on the island the other night. Edo rushed to Subaru and shouted hysterically:

"Suby look at all that wasted ketchup! We could've used it for a pizza, but no, that selfish Hakuoh preferred to eat it all for himself!"

"That's not ketchup, Edo-kun." Subaru replied while looking into the eyes of his friend, his sadness easily being read.

"Oh, then what?" Edo asked and after thinking it up for a few moments he realized what was really going on. "So that means that he's…"

"Deceased?" Wally completed his sentence. "Yes, you are right, chosen water duelist."

Lowering his head, Edo returned to his group that was mourning the death of their teacher. Tsugumi on the other hand went to Subaru while still holding Luna and she put her free hand on her lover's shoulder while still crying.

"The Monk reduced him to silence, right?" Tsugumi wept.

"You're right. He killed him because he knew his or her identity." Subaru answered her and clenched his fist in anger.

"I'll personally take care of this case, Subaru. I'll bring you The Monk unmasked right before your eyes." Tiger promised.

"I don't understand what happened to Hakuoh-sama. Someone tell me!" Tamma said while his eyes got filled with tears.

"Tsugumi, take Luna up to the temple and take care of her!" Subaru ordered and his lover nodded and left with the fainted girl. "Edo-kun, you take Tamma and go after them!"

Edo obeyed his friend's request and grabbed Tamma's hand, going with the now eleven year old after Tsugumi and Luna. Now that it was just him, Wally and Tiger, Subaru decided to finally let go of his emotions. The black haired teen collapsed on his knees in front of the dead body, unleashed streams of rivers from his eyes and sobbed. Then he turned his head to the sky and he pictured The Monk from Tiger's description as a criminal dressed in a black robe with a hood. Gathering all the power of his lungs, he screamed to the sky as much as he could:

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?!"

In the moment when Blane saw Hakuoh's dead body, he also sensed something moving between the trees and running towards the center of the island. He immediately separated from the group without anyone noticing and followed that noise deeper into the jungle. It seemed that he was faster than the one he was chasing since the noise was getting louder and louder, sign of him approaching it. That was when he slowed down and stepped with caution, making sure that he wouldn't be heard. Loud rustles were coming from behind a large green bush.

When Blane pushed the leaves of the bush away, he saw a person dressed fully in black with a hood covering their head and two silver claws on their left hand. The person was pulling a large heavy bag with them towards a dug pit.

"Could this be The Monk?" Blane asked in his mind. "I can't afford to lose him now, I'll have to hit first and ask questions later."

Without thinking twice, Blane took his sword out of his sheath and jumped out of the bushes surprising The Monk. He landed in front of the robed figure and placed his sword straight at the killer's chest. One move and he or she would be done for.

"Alright pal, let's cut it short alright?" Blane suggested. "You'll answer my questions and this thing right here won't pierce anything that belongs to you, capiche?"

The Monk raised his hands letting go of the bag and nodded.

"Just who are you?" Blane began the interrogation.

The Monk reached his trembling right hand into a pocket and took out a voice changer in which he spoke making robotized sounds:

"I am The Monk."

"Why did you kill those three people?" Blane continued.

"Boris disobeyed me, the Frenchman was standing in my way and didn't want to give me money, and Hakuoh found out my identity." The Monk explained.

"What do you want from the chosen duelists?"

"I want the Proof of Duelmaster."

"What for?"

"For revenge."

"Revenge? What are you talking about?"

"Next question, I refuse to go into details."

"Listen here buddy you're not the one setting the rules here!"

Blane approached the sword even more to The Monk's chest to intimidate the murderer but right in that moment the criminal fell on his back on the sand. When Blane walked to him to put the sword once again on his chest, The Monk grabbed a handful of sand and threw it on his eyes. Taking advantage of that short moment of weakness, the killer knocked the sword out of Blane's hands and punched him in the stomach. Then The Monk tried to stab him in the neck with the silver claws but by then Blane had managed to clean his eyes and dodged the attack. Seeing the intention of the long brown haired teen to grab his sword once again, The Monk took out a glowing deck from the robe's pockets and showed it to him.

"Oh, you wanna duel? Sure, I'm game." Blane accepted the challenge and took out his deck as well.

Two dueling tables arose from the sand and both duelists put their decks on them, set their cards and raised their five shields beginning their kaijudo duel. Being the first to start, The Monk put Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman in his mana zone, tapped that card and casted Bloody Cross which put the top two cards of both players go to their graveyards. The Monk got Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Hustle Castle in the graveyard while Blane got Eternal Meteor Kaiser and Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed in his.

"That's weird, why would he start like this?" Blane asked himself while putting Mendelssohn into his mana zone tapped.

The Monk's turn came once again. The killer put Sol Habaki, the Apocalyptic Sage in his mana zone, tapped both cards and summoned Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King. By its effect Bloody Cross returned to his hand.

"Eh? He's planning on reusing that spell? This is not good." Blane thought and then he said. "My turn, I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her!"

The top card of Blane's deck landed in his mana zone, revealing itself as Gaial Axel. The Monk also summoned and destroyed a Jasmine and had a Hanzou, Menacing Phantom land in his mana zone. Then tapping both his darkness mana cards he casted two Bloody Crosses and made four cards from the top of each player's decks land in their graveyards. The Monk got Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, Faerie Life and Leaf Storm Trap. Blane got Cocco Lupia, Balga Raizou, the Super-Heavenly Nova, Superspeed Revenge Dragon and Magmadragon Balga Geyser. Then due to Giovanni the two Bloody Crosses returned to The Monk's hand yet again.

"The hell is he planning? Does he wish to mill both our decks to death? That's crazy!" Blane spoke in his mind and then he began his turn. "I summon Eco Aini!"

The top card of Blane's deck which was Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor went to his mana zone. Then thanks to the green winged parrot's effect another card went to his mana zone as well which was Jasmine, Mist Faerie. The Monk's turn came again and this time the murderer casted Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroyed Eco Aini and brought Volg Thunder to the battle zone. The Monk pointed to Blane's deck making the demonic creature roar and cause the top cards of it fall to the graveyard. First was Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed, then two Faerie Lives and finally Cocco Lupia.

"He doesn't want to mill both our decks, he wants to mill mine!" Blane worried himself while looking at the cards in his hand which were Gaial Axel, Balga Raizou, the Super-Heavenly Nova and Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor. "If I could just stall enough to get to eight and nine mana."

Blane drew his next card and smiled at the sight of it. Then he put Gaial Axel in his mana zone, tapped two mana cards and said:

"I cast Mendelssohn! By its effect I reveal the top two cards from my deck and put all Dragons in my mana zone!"

The cards were Superspeed Revenge Dragon and Eternal Meteor Kaiser and both landed in his mana zone.

"Perfect! Next turn he's done for!" Blane thought confidently.

The Monk ignored his glorious mana boost and simply began his turn. The assassin showed a Hyperspatial Raiden Hole card which shined with a purple light and brought a second Volg Thunder in the battle zone. Once again its user pointed at Blane's deck out of which cards began to fall yet again. Those were Mendelssohn, Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Faerie Life and Cocco Lupia. Then the killer ended his turn yet again.

"Oh crap, my deck's becoming smaller. This has to end now!" Blane said and then he showed a Nature card. "Mana Galaxy Vortex, I summon Balga Raizou, the Super-Heavenly Nova!"

A brown serpent like dragon with a white head and blue eyes appeared in the battle zone by Blane's side. The boy then sent the three Dragons which he evolved into it to the graveyard and used its meteorburn to reveal his top three cards and put all non-evolution Dragons into the battle zone. The cards were Bolbalzak Ex, Superspeed Revenge Dragon and Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed.

"Perfect! All speed attackers! You're finished, Monk!" Blane declared. "Go, Balga Raizou, triple break his shields!"

The dragon flew towards The Monk and went through three of the five shields, breaking them to pieces. The shards reformatted into three cards that went to their owner and he showed one of them to the opponent as Leaf Storm Trap. The card made one of the Volg Thunders return to the hyperspatial zone and Blane's Bolbalzak Ex go to the mana zone.

"Choppaya Dragon, break his final shields!" Blane ordered.

Then towards his shock, The Monk put his hand on a card from his battle zone and tapped it. The card was bounced and fell to his graveyard. It was Giovanni the 10th, the small blocker that recycled The Monk's Bloody Crosses. Blane had forgotten all about it.

"Grr, Superspeed Revenge Dragon, break his shield!" Blane ordered and the red armored dragon with black cape flew quickly towards one of The Monk's shields and slashed it.

Blane's turn ended and he returned Choppaya Dragon to his hand and discarded it due to its effect. As for The Monk, the killer didn't even bother to look at the one card that went to his hand. He simply casted a Bloody Cross which made the last card from Blane's deck fall into his graveyard, revealing itself as Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" and causing him to lose via deck-out.

"Seems like we lost this one, eh Torch?" Blane spoke to the card with disappointment.

What followed next was an explosion that made Blane and his cards fall on the ground. The Monk approached him with the poisoned silver claws ready to pierce through his neck and unleash the deadly venom when sounds came from behind the bushes. The killer turned around, looked through the leaves and saw Subaru, Tiger and Wally approaching them following the footsteps that they both made.

The Monk quickly ran away and by the time the trio reached the place of the duel, they saw Blane lying on the ground with small burns and a large sack next to him.

"Blane, are you alright?!" a worried Subaru exclaimed while helping his friend get up.

"I'll live, that's all that matters." Blane played the tough guy card.

"What happened here?" Tiger immediately questioned.

"The Monk was here. I dueled him and lost. He was carrying this bag that I guess he was also intending to bury in that pit over there." the long brown haired duelist responded and pointed to a hole dug in the ground nearby.

"Then let us see what this nice fellow was carrying with, shall we?" Wally spoke with a small note of irony which surprised the others since he was mourning Hakuoh a few moments ago.

"Dude you need medical attention, pronto!" Subaru insisted while watching Blane stand on his own feet.

"Don't be such a drama queen; it's just a few scratches." Blane toughened up.

In the next moment Wally's scream made their ears bleed and hearts pump out. What lied in the bag was the dead body of Spunky. There were two small marks on his neck and an expression of despair was ruling his face.

"But how?" Subaru mumbled. "He left the island last night; I saw the taxi taking off from the beach."

"True, but did you see Spunky IN the taxi?" Tiger added with an angered voice to which Subaru responded with a shaking head. "See? He must have called the taxi but when he closed the call The Monk must have dragged him in the woods and killed him. When the rocket taxi came, the pilot saw nobody so he took off right when you were descending to the beach."

"Nice supposition, but what did you think that he wanted to do with the body?" Blane asked.

"Bury the evidence. And he didn't do the same with Hakuoh's body because he wanted to leave it as a message to us." Tiger hypothesized. "I'm guessing that he also wanted to murder Wally, but seeing that he was together with Subaru the whole night he was spared."

"My best friend… is no more…" Wally murmured while falling on his knees.

And then, for the first time, Subaru and Tiger witnessed Wally cry. He, Wally, the smart mouthed and always ironic fellow that spat criticisms with his venomous tongue similar to that of vipers was now mourning revealing that he actually had feelings behind the armor of satire that he was wearing.

Devastated by the pain around him, Subaru once again raised his eyes to the sky and whispered between his lips with sorrow and despair:

"When will this nightmare end?"


	59. Return of the Zabi Prince

A week had passed since the tragic events that took place on the temple's island. The chosen duelists transported the bodies of Hakuoh and Spunky back to their town where they would be autopsied and then mourned and properly buried. The school had received the deaths of their principal and one of their best students with great grief. Once the autopsy was over the students of the school's administration had arranged for a good bye ceremony for them at which the six chosen duelists and Blane also participated. During the ceremony Luna couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on Hakuoh's coffin begging that her teacher come back to life. The second chosen water duelist was usually rational and trusted science more than the supernatural, but when it came to the death of someone dear to her such as her beloved teacher, her rationality faded away. Luckily Tsugumi was the one that pulled her off the cold metallic coffin and held her back from having another outburst. After the burial, the school gave a week holiday to its students so that they would decide who the new principal would be. The administration was intending upon making an election but when they opened Hakuoh's will they found out that he wished for his best student Wally to succeed him as the new principal. For the young duelist it was indeed a shocking surprise but he decided to assume the hard responsibilities that came with the job. The good part was that he was in his final year at that school so once summer was over he would finally have graduated.

Returning to the chosen duelists, that week was one filled with sorrow for most of them. While Tamma and Edo forgot all about it due to their games, Luna was beyond devastated and could not gather the strength to return to her normal routine. Tsugumi was there for her trying to help her go through that hard time of her life. Tiger paid visits to the doctor who had autopsied the two bodies and helped him find out the cause of their deaths so that he would know how The Monk killed. As for Subaru, he preferred to retreat in his own world, isolating himself from the others, taking long walks all alone in the city all day and going to sleep early at night, all while reflecting upon the nightmare that he and his team were living in and also upon the secret that he had found out from doctor Root.

"_But little did anyone, even I, expect that your mother would bring us the greatest surprise yet. She did not have a baby boy, she had two! Yes, I know it is hard to believe, but that is the truth - Maria Geki had had twins that day. While she was resting from giving birth and your father was heading to the hospital, I took the freedom of checking the conditions of both babies to ensure that everything was alright. And then towards my shock one of them was diagnosed with several birth complications such as heart disease, underdeveloped lungs and his eyes were sensible to even the smallest light. I feared that if your father had found out about this and I would not have managed to cure him, I would have been a goner. So what did I do? I sent only you to your parents and hid the other baby at my own home."_

Subaru opened his eyes and sighed. The steam inside the bathroom had managed to wake him up in need for air. Still the hot water from the bath tub in which he was lying had made him so comfortable that he managed to fall asleep for a little while. Deciding that he had been lazy for long enough, he grabbed the shampoo bottle and unleashed the white liquid upon his wet black mane. Afterwards he began to rub it on his head until bubbles came out. Once he was done, he took a scrubber and began to scrub various parts of his body, all while being with his mind elsewhere, at the content from doctor Root's CD more exactly. After a few minutes he put the scrubber away, washed his hair with the shower and then he simply lay there in the filled bath tub and stared at his own reflection in the water.

"I had a brother…" was the only thing that he whispered under his lips.

But little did Subaru know that while he was daydreaming the bathroom's door opened. The one that stepped in was The Monk and he was carrying a black travel bag with him. He silently closed the door and then he carefully put the bag on the toilet. Due to the thick steam the killer couldn't be seen by Subaru so he had a huge advantage. The black robed figure slowly unzipped the bag and took out two sharp silver claws which he gracefully put on the index and middle fingers of his left hand. Then he took out a small bottle filled with viper venom and dipped both claws into it. Everything seemed ready for yet another murder. But then one certain thought slipped into the killer's head. What if Subaru could somehow manage to escape the wrath of the poisoned claws? If that was the case, then he needed another way to kill him. The Monk then pulled out a hairdryer from the bag and plugged it to the nearest outlet.

Right in that moment Subaru heard the noise that the hairdryer was making and he realized that something was wrong. It couldn't have been Tsugumi because she always announced her presence when she knew he was in the bathroom.

"Who's there?" Subaru asked and immediately got up from the water.

Seeing that his cover had been blown, The Monk dropped the hairdryer in panic. Still, he had to kill Subaru, so he rushed at him and attacked him with his claws. Subaru was shocked upon seeing the killer in the same place as him but he still managed to dodge the first time The Monk tried to stab him in the neck.

"What are you doing here?" Subaru demanded for an answer but instead received another attack.

This time Subaru wasn't prepared and The Monk had scratched his left arm with the claws. Then the killer aimed once again for the neck but Subaru managed to dodge yet again and have the claws get stuck in a small hole in the wall.

"I won't let you kill me that easily!" Subaru declared and then he turned on the shower and let the water fall upon the claws washing away the viper venom. "Tiger suspected that your claws were poisoned, so if that's the case then you can kiss your plan good bye."

In a fit of anger The Monk grabbed Subaru with his free hand and threw him back in the water. Then the criminal pulled out his left hand and grabbed the hairdryer from the floor. Afterwards he approached the bathtub ready to throw it in the water and electrocute Subaru. All of a sudden, someone took the hairdryer from The Monk's hands and used it to punch him in the head. When the assassin turned his back, he saw an angered Tsugumi.

"Nobody tries to kill my Subaru and gets away with it!" the blonde girl growled.

Seeing that the murder failed, The Monk pushed Tsugumi away, grabbed his travel bag and ran off. In that moment the blonde girl took out her cell phone and called Blane informing him about what had happened. Then she turned to her lover and helped him get out of the bath.

"Are you alright?" Tsugumi asked worried.

"He scratched my arm with those poisoned claws but I don't think it entered my body because Tiger said he uses the claws to inject it." Subaru explained.

"Still I suggest we go to the hospital room and have you looked upon."

"Sure, but only if you're the nurse!"

Tsugumi turned to Subaru and noticed a perverted look on his face. Sighing, she gave her medical decree instantly:

"You'll survive."

"Thought so, but I still want you to be my nurse!" Subaru insisted.

"Maybe tonight, right now I want to go check on Luna to see if she is alright." Tsugumi said.

"Alright, then tonight it is!"

Blane searched every corner of the UFO but there was no sign of The Monk. It was as if the killer had managed to find a way to teleport themselves inside or sneak in and out without being seen by anyone.

Meanwhile Tiger was sitting against a wall while a bald doctor dressed in a white lab coat was typing with the speed of a machine on his computer. All that the chosen nature duelist could understand from the man's work was the fact that he was zooming in on the pictures he made of Hakuoh's and Spunky's bodies in order to determine the causes of their deaths. But when it came to all that computer and medical terminology, he did not understand a thing nor was he too interested to.

"Look here!" the doctor said while zooming on Hakuoh's neck revealing two red marks. "It seems like a snake bite but it's not."

"No, that's what The Monk does with two claws." Tiger replied. "I believe that he dips them in venom and then injects it in the victim's neck."

"So we have a modus operandi."

"Excuse me doctor, but what the hell is that?"

"It's Latin for 'method of operation'. In criminology it's used to describe the criminal's habits or manner of working."

"I see. But doctor, what exactly are the effects of this venom that The Monk uses?"

"This, my dear Tiger, I do not know yet. Its effects are slightly similar to those of viper venom but that venom kills the victim in at least five minutes. In this case the victim died in less than a minute. I need to make some experiments on this venom and for that I will need a sample."

"Don't worry doctor, I promise you that soon you will get that sample!" Tiger assured him with a confident smile on his face.

Later that day Edo left the UFO to meet up with a mysterious new friend of his, leaving Tamma alone and bored. The red haired boy chose to spend time with Tsugumi comforting Luna and trying to make her be happy and forget of the tragedy that happened. As for Subaru, he and Blane were working on his deck once again trying to add new cards. The two sat in the chosen darkness duelist's room, Blane on the floor and Subaru on the bed, the black haired boy's large collection of cards being spread all over his sheets.

"Alright, I suggest that this time we focus more on Zero Romanoff." Subaru said while putting the three copies of the card to a corner. "I think that we should have him abuse a bigger variety of spells, not just reanimators."

"But since you still want to keep Romanoff Reborn, I say we start with the reanimator spells first!" Blane said and then he put next to the Zero Romanoff cards a few darkness spells. "Miracle Re Born, Inferno Sign and Hades Death Gate all work well."

"Indeed. Now let's see what other spells we could add and…"

"Before we do that, I say we add the support for Zero Romanoff and the graveyard."

"Ok, then we'll fill the empty slots with the powerful Hunters and Darkness spells. So Blane, what shall we use to support Zero Romanoff?"

"Oh, the usual basics: Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress and Super Go On Pippi to make Zero Romanoff speed attacker, and Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, Deepsea Typhoon, Emergency Typhoon to fill the graveyard. "

"Alright. But until we move on, I want to edit my hyperspatial zone a bit." Subaru said while taking out one of the two Volg Thunders and replacing it with a Dias Zeta, the Temporal Suppressor.

"But how do you plan to bring that one or Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier or even your Victorious Gaial Kaiser out?" Blane raised his eyebrow. "Hyperspatial Raiden Hole can't put any of these three in the battle zone."

"Oh, that's easy, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole! Combining it with Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier or Victorious Gaial Kaiser you can cause a powerful removal."

"Clever and effective. So we got the hyperspatial zone complete and also got hyperspatial spells for Zero Romanoff. I guess it's time to add either the powerful Hunters or more spells."

"I say we take care of Hunters first. I'm going with my classic ones: Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger aka my Raion and Aqua Naruto Surfer aka Edo-kun's Snipy! Now I wonder if I should have one copy or two of each…"

"I suggest one, because dude, Episode 2 has brought us some great Hunters that yearn to be brought out early in the game!"

Blane searched his pockets and pulled out three cards, they being two copies of one card and a copy of another.

"It seems that the Darkness civilization decided to troll even more with this little guy known as Funk, Guard of Hope!" Blane said and handed Subaru two cards. "This creature gives -5000 power to all of your opponent's psychic creatures and -1000 to all their non-psychic creatures."

"Awesome, this guy is kind of like my Raion but its effect is lasting!" Subaru exclaimed while admiring the two Darkness cards. "And the other card is?"

"Ogre Kaiser "Destruction"! You've seen him as Tamma's avatar before. I got it recently but I think that it works better in your deck." Blane said while offering Subaru the other card. "Not only is he a speed attacker but when he attacks you destroy one of your opponent's psychic creatures!"

"Awesome!" Subaru exclaimed while looking at the two Fire cards. "It's like Genji Double Cross but it destroys psychics instead of blockers! Thanks dude!"

Once they put all the cards up and counted the number, they realized that the deck just needed five more cards.

"Well there are many possibilities. You could add one more copy of each Hunter or…"

"Or something better!" Subaru replied with a sly smile. "I could use some Darkness spells that do not get banned by a certain troll known as Queen Alcadeias!"

"Oh, you're bad!" Blane spoke back with a similar smile.

"I'll take Super Infernal Gate Smash and Persistent Prison of Gaia! These will do! And the last slot I'll fill with a good old Hanzou, Menacing Phantom for some defense."

And thus Subaru packed up all cards and looked happily at his new deck like a child who had just pulled a present from under the Christmas tree. Right then a doorbell rang.

"Subaru dear, care to answer for me please?" Tsugumi's voice resounded from the kitchen.

"Alright my precious!" Subaru answered to his lover and then he and Blane walked out of the room and headed to the main entrance of the UFO.

"Gee, who could it be at this time of the day?" Blane wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Once the door opened they saw the imposing figure of a duelist with a red jacket covering his black clothes and with his hair short on the right side of his head and long on the left side. Upon seeing Subaru and Blane, the duelist glared at them with his red eyes, put a maniacal grin on his face and laughed uncontrollably:

"Yahahaha, Subaru I have returned at last!"

"Oh my gosh, it's Shubham!" Blane exclaimed.

"Oh, I thought it was The Monk…" Subaru added and was about to slam the door when Shubham put his foot in and stopped him. "Huh?"

"Don't you dare slam that door in my nose once again, Subaru Geki, or you will be sorry!" Shubham threatened and then he stepped inside the UFO.

"Listen we don't have time to waste with whatever crazy thing you're up to now." Subaru tried to excuse himself.

"Um dude, you didn't even listen to what he had to say…" Blane commented but he received a grudged glare from Subaru meaning that his intervention was unwelcomed.

"I have returned for you Subaru Geki!" Shubham maniacally spoke and he received shocked stares from Subaru and Blane. "Yes, be scared foolish mortals, for I…"

In the next moment a vase hit the back of Shubham's head. The duelist rubbed his head and turned his back to see a highly angered Tsugumi that was also holding a broomstick in her hands. Her face was so red that one would confuse her for a lobster. Tamma and Luna were both sitting at the kitchen's opened door sweating with fear.

"Huh? Tsugumi?" Shubham asked but then the girl jumped at him and hit him hard with her broomstick.

"SO IT WAS YOU! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!" Tsugumi yelled while slamming the broomstick on his face. "YOU PSYCHOPATHIC PERVERT, YOU ARE THE MONK!"

"What?!" Subaru, Blane, Tamma and Luna all exclaimed.

"Wait, Tsugumi, it's a misunderstanding…" Shubham barely spoke but he received even harder hits.

"YOU PEEKED ON MY SUBARU WHILE HE WAS TAKING A BATH AND THEN YOU TRIED TO MURDER HIM! I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY AGAIN!"

If it weren't for Blane, Shubham would have been done for. The long brown haired duelist summoned his Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" which grabbed Tsugumi and held her in the air until she calmed down. During that time Blane helped the wounded Shubham get up and stand on his feet.

"Gosh, you gotta teach your girlfriend to control her temper, dude!" Blane told Subaru who sweated in shame.

"Let me at him! I want a piece of him!" Tsugumi angrily demanded.

"Um sweetie, why are you so certain that he is The Monk?" Subaru asked and finally the blonde girl calmed down.

"Well who else we know is highly suspicious and attempted once to kill us all?" Tsugumi responded in a calmer manner.

"Tsh, if I ever wanted to kill you, I'd do it by challenging you directly, not by killing you while you were vulnerable." Shubham defended himself.

"Now that I think of it… Yeah, Shubham can't be The Monk." Tsugumi reconsidered. "The Monk is too smart to be Shubham."

"See?" Shubham spoke with pride but then he realized what the girl actually meant. "Wait, what?!"

"Torch, you may release her." Blane said and the creature leaned down and let go of Tsugumi.

The chosen light duelist wiped the few dust bits off her short red summer dress and then she walked back in the kitchen where Tamma and Luna were waiting for her with rather embarrassed faces.

"Now where were we?" Shubham said while turning to Subaru and Blane. "Oh yeah, I have come for you, Subaru Geki!"

"Dude, you don't know how gay that sounded." Blane commented.

"Says banana boy." Shubham countered and made him blush.

"Alright Shubham, what is it that you want from me now?" Subaru asked only to see him take out his glowing deck from the red jacket. "Ah yes, I should've known."

"This time the Aliens shall crush the Hunters!" Shubham declared.

"Good to know that nothing's changed…" Subaru sighed.

The trio walked to the training room and there Subaru and Shubham picked a table and sat at it setting their cards. Blane lay against the wall with his arms crossed looking at the other two as their match began.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Subaru said and he drew two cards and discarded Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff.

"I summon Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess." Shubham said and made Subaru reveal the top two cards of his deck which were Miracle Re Born and Deepsea Typhoon. "Heh, Miracle Re Born to the graveyard."

"I summon Deepsea Typhoon. With its effect I draw a card and discard Hades Death Gate."

"What's the matter Subaru? No more Hunters in your hand to discard? Oh too bad, it seems I'll have to get my way now. I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma."

"Don't get too overconfident, Shubham, the game has just begun! I cast Super Infernal Gate Smash and destroy Maxval!"

"Tsh… I cast Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole and put Alien Father (Just 1 Song?) in the battle zone. Now all of my Aliens have slayer!"

"I cast Persistent Prison of Gaia!"

"What?! You have that spell…"

"I send Bella back to your hand!"

Seeing that tri-civilization spell brought Shubham a pleasant surprise. He knew that Subaru had indeed grown stronger and the match would be an enjoyable one. He took Bella to his hand, shuffled it and had the bad luck of Subaru discarding it from the four cards. Then due to Persistent Prison of Gaia's effect one of Shubham's shields went to the graveyard, the card being Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard.

"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole, return Cebu Algol to my hand and put Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel in the battle zone!" Shubham said.

"I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!" Subaru said and then using his creature's effect he chose to mill Shubham's deck and the cards fell one by one, those being Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, Aqua Surfer, Ghost Touch, Aquan Jr's Delivery and Jenny, the Suicide Doll. "Then I destroy Deepsea Typhoon and put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone as well!"

"Tsh, your stupid milling won't stop me! I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and put Zabi Jekyll, Temporal Gunman in the battle zone!"

"Psychic Link, Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Subaru said and then the image of a black demonic tiger with purple wings and a purple sword in its hand appeared behind him. "And now I end."

"What's the matter, Subaru? Is the fact that you lack cards in your hand a problem to you?" Shubham mockingly said but received no response. "Oh well, that's your loss. Anyway, my turn, I evolve Cebu Algol into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! By its effect I put Hydra Gilsaurus in the battle zone!"

Sadly for Subaru, his draw wasn't that good. Still, he had reached seven mana, so he decided to use it instead of charging mana.

"I summon Super Go On Pippi."

"Yahahahahaha, prepare to meet your doom, Subaru Geki! I summon Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman!" Shubham said and then a dark blue demonic Alien with three pairs of arms that had electricity between the fingers and also with a huge mouth with sharp teeth on its chest appeared as a hologram. "Meet my deck avatar, Subaru! Bring chaos and despair, Zabuza!"

The Alien roared and even though it was a hologram it made Subaru back down in fear.

"With its effect I destroy Zabi Jekyll and replace him with Gallows Cebu Kaiser!" Shubham continued and then he laughed even more.

"Oh no, this isn't good at all." Blane remarked sweating. "Next turn he'll link Gallows Devil Dragon and then it's curtains for Subaru!"

"I wouldn't bet on that!" Subaru replied with his hand getting surrounded by a purple aura as he drew his next card. "I cast Inferno Sign and revive Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

The hologram of a purple armored horned knight with a red cape, two yellow guns and an X on its chest appeared in the battle zone. Then by its effect Subaru searched his deck and tossed Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger to his graveyard.

"Since Super Go On Pippi makes all my Dragon Hunters speed attackers, I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Miracle Re Born! You brought your avatar, Shubby? Then let me return the favor!" Subaru said with a sly grin on his face. "I revive Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger!"

A dark blue demonic lion warrior wielding two sharp swords and with two orange horns positioned on its head as a V appeared in the battle zone and roared back at Zabi Mira.

"Shubham, Zabuza, meet Raion!" Subaru said and the creature's hologram jumped at Shubham's side and began slashing the images of the smaller Aliens sparing only Zabi Implosion and Zabi Mira. "Go, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields!"

The knight fired one shot from each gun and took down two of Shubham's shields.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Zero Romanoff!" Shubham said and two demonic hands grabbed the knight crushing him. "Also, shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer and bounce Volg Tiger!"

The hologram of a blue surfer appeared and hit Volg Tiger, forcing its two bits to separate, Volg Thunder being the part that Subaru chose to keep and then he ended his turn.

"Nice comeback, I am impressed. Still, this match is far from over, Subaru! I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top cards of Shubham's deck were Zabi Barrel, Western Doll, Energy Stream and Hades Death Gate. Two of them went to his hand and Energy Stream landed in his graveyard.

"Then I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll! Go, Zabi Mira, double break his shields! Then Zabi Implosion, break two more shields! Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!"

Subaru stood there shield less at the mercy of Shubham. If he couldn't win that game in that very turn, then it would've been Shubham's win. The cards he received from his shields weren't too good either: Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Funk, Guard of Hope, Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist and Deepsea Typhoon.

"Why don't you give up now and make things easier, Subaru?" Shubham confidently asked.

"Huh?" Subaru raised his head to his opponent.

"If you fall down on your knees and admit the superiority of the Aliens, I will probably have mercy on you." Shubham continued.

"Bullshit! That's not the Subaru that I know! He'll never give up; he'll fight until the end!" Blane shouted at Shubham who laughed at him as a response.

"Blane's right… I must never give up!" Subaru said and then his hand got surrounded by a bright red aura that resembled a wild flame.

"Huh? What's that?" Shubham asked as Subaru drew his next card.

"I summon Ogre Kaiser "Destruction"!" Subaru exclaimed and Blane smiled upon seeing the hologram metallic red armored dragon with four golden horns and blue laser wings. "Since he's a speed attacker, I now attack with Ogre Kaiser, break his final shields!"

"Block the attack, Zabi Barrel!"

"Volg Thunder, break his final shields!"

"Tsh…" Shubham spat upon seeing that the cards from his hand were Maxval, Electro-Fuuma and Jenny, the Suicide Doll.

"Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, todomeda! Get him, Raion!" Subaru ordered and a beam came out of his card that pushed Shubham and had him fall on his back.

After the match was over Subaru and Blane hi fived and rejoiced the success of their newly built deck. Shubham got up, packed up his cards and then he scared the duo by laughing even louder than before, making them think that he was having some problems.

"Shubham, you sure you're okay, dude?" Blane asked.

"Oh yes, I've never been better!" Shubham replied. "I may have lost this match, but I enjoyed every last moment of it!"

"I am glad I could provide you entertainment." Subaru said.

"Indeed, but be aware, Subaru Geki, for the Zabi Prince has returned and the next time we face you won't be as lucky!" Shubham assured him and laughed some more.

"Yep, he hasn't changed one bit." Subaru whispered to Blane.

At the entrance of the city a girl dressed in a short golden dress slowly walked towards the human hive made of metal, glass and concrete. Staring at it with her blue predator eyes and playing with her blonde mane like hair, she laughed a bit and whispered to herself:

"Chosen duelists, prepare yourselves, for the Lioness is back in town!"


	60. Showdown of the Murderers

Later that day the chosen duelists, Blane and Shubham were having lunch in the kitchen. Subaru and Tsugumi sat next to each other, Luna and Blane parallel to them, Tamma at the head of the table and Shubham all alone at the other head of the table. The dishes that gracefully decorated the table were a huge pot with chicken soup, a large plate with a roasted pig and a big chocolate cake for desert. As expected, Tamma was already eating from everything he set his eyes on quicker than a pig. Blane, Subaru and Tsugumi were normally eating their foods, Shubham was playing with his fork in the plate out of boredom since he wasn't hungry and Luna simply stood there staring at her food, the depression in her eyes being easily read.

"Poor Luna, the death of Hakuoh-sama has truly affected her deeply." Tsugumi whispered to Subaru.

"I know. She's going through a hard period in her time." Subaru whispered back.

"I wish there was something we could do to make her feel better."

"Maybe we could try to cheer her up."

"Hey you two, what are you talking there behind our backs?" Blane raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing!" the lovers excused themselves while sweating.

"Hey Luna, you're gonna eat that pig leg?" Tamma asked while taking Luna's food from her plate with his fork. "Guess not. Thanks!"

"You're not helping at all, Tamma." Subaru remarked and Tsugumi shook her head.

"Heh, you're such a funny comedy to watch." Shubham finally spoke and got everyone's attention turned upon him. "While you all waste your time here relaxing, The Monk is still out there planning his next move."

"In case you didn't notice, Tiger is out there trying to find out that bastard's identity!" Blane fought back.

"And the rest of you are so efficient that you had that guy sneak in under your very noses and attempt to murder one of you." Shubham continued with an ironic tone.

"Enough!" Subaru suddenly exclaimed. "The Monk will be found and he or she will be brought to justice for all these horrible crimes!"

"Words are pointless. Action is a treasure." Shubham concluded and sat back crossing his arms.

Meanwhile in the city Tiger was walking down its roads heading to its rather abandoned center while sniffing around the air. He didn't care for the weird looks that he was getting from people; all that he wanted was to find once again a trail of viper venom that would lead him to The Monk's hideout. Last time that happened he was lead to a flat that was rather hidden between buildings and was hard to identify. He knew that the search would be rather difficult, but he had to trust his animal-like instincts if he wanted to catch a predator like The Monk.

All of a sudden Tiger got the impression that he was being followed. He looked with the corner of his right eye behind him and noticed a shadow approaching. He could also hear slow but steady footsteps approaching from behind as well. The blonde teen began to move faster until he found a dark alley in which he entered and hid in the shadows waiting for his follower to come after him. In a few moments the silhouette of a girl made its appearance in the same alley. She wore yellow high heels, a short golden dress and had her blonde hair arranged to seem like a lion mane with a white lion head hairpin in it. Her cold blue eyes were searching for Tiger throughout the darkness while the excited grin that revealed her sharp teeth was speaking only of pleasure. If it were the pleasure to kill then the chosen nature duelist was in big trouble.

"There's no point in hiding, I'm not out to kill you." Leona spoke but received no response. "Tsh, fine, I'll prove it to you."

The girl searched in her pockets and took out her only weapons – a knife and a pair of scissors – which she let fall on the ground. Then she made a few more steps into the darkness and raised her hands in the air signifying her surrender. Tiger finally walked out of his hideout and ended up face to face with the girl, revealing that he was taller than her. However that didn't matter to her, for she looked up in his eyes with the same cold expression that she had.

"It's been a long time, Tiger."

"Indeed it has, Leona."

"So tell me, how have things been going on ever since we left?" Leona asked but then she continued speaking not letting Tiger give her an answer. "I have heard from Shubham that there's some killer called The Monk out on the loose for your souls. Is that true?"

"Shubham? How does he know?" Tiger responded to her question with another.

"He read in the online news, duh. Then he also called me on the phone while I was having a relaxing hot spring bath at the mountains to tell me that he was going to check this problem and was wondering if I would join. Obviously I agreed, for someone like me is always on the look for entertainment."

"And what exactly are your intentions here?"

"I don't know about Shubham, but personally I want to see this Monk in action!"

"What?!"

"Remember Tiger boy, I was a murderer and I had my own ways of killing people. Now seeing another killer in action doing the same thing is more than fascinating. I want to see their way of action, how they cover their trails, their way of thinking, what's driving them to spill blood, I want to see it all! To me it's like getting to know another person fully."

"You're sick." Tiger spoke to the girl with disgust.

"So tell me all about this Monk character, I'm listening fully." Leona said while pulling a trash can and sitting on it.

"And why should I trust you?"

"You know very well I have no intentions to kill you, Tiger. If anything I could actually be the one helping you, but only if you choose to cooperate."

"Tsh fine, it's gonna be a long story."

Tiger pulled a wooden crate and sat upon it while telling Leona everything that happened ever since The Monk entered their lives and caused chaos. When the story was over Leona had a smile of satisfaction on her face. For a moment there was silence and Tiger nervously watched how she looked at the dirty building walls and thinking. Finally she let loose of a small laughter and she spoke to him:

"Don't you worry little Tiger; I've got a plan to lure this bastard into a trap!"

"Little Tiger?" the muscular male raised his eyebrow. "Anyway, what are you thinking of?"

"You said you wanted to get into The Monk's house and snatch some of their venom, right? I can distract him or her and buy you enough time to take that and maybe some other clues. That way you'll have some evidence against the killer, I can have my way with them and we're both happy." Leona explained her plan. "What do you say?"

"Alright, we'll do it your way, let's just hope that at the end of the day we'll have caught this guy."

And so the night fell yet again upon the city. The moon was shining majestically upon the blackened celestial bolt while her little stars were all spread around and sparkling. At the UFO Subaru and Tsugumi sat hugging each other and admiring the night sky. Enjoying the warmth of each other's body and beautiful scent, they were ready to finally spend some well deserved time together after all those weeks of business.

"It feels like forever since we last touched." Tsugumi murmured.

"All this work is keeping us apart that I feel so alone without you." Subaru replied softly while playing with the girl's hair.

"Yes but now our moment has at last come and the moon is our witness."

"Oh Tsugumi, I love you…"

"I love you too, my demon."

And so the two kissed passionately, their lips heavily pressed one against the other and their tongues eagerly exploring each other's mouth. Slowly they backed into the bedroom while tenderly pulling their clothes off.

Meanwhile on the beach Luna approached the shores while undressing herself and letting each cloth bit land on the sand, having her cards spread all over her clothes. She even blinked so that her eye contacts would fall off and then she calmly put them in her skirt's pocket. Now that the blue haired girl was fully naked she entered the water while spreading her arms in the air like the wings of a majestic bird. Once the water was reaching the level of her belly she stopped and stared up at the moon whose silver rays were gracefully falling upon her.

"What a lovely night to bathe in the moonlit waters. If only everyone knew how to appreciate the beauty of you." Luna spoke to the nocturnal sphere while rubbing her belly, chest and shoulders with the sea water. "Even scientifically speaking the night is still a wonder of nature, the absence of the sun's light which grants us all to see the lights of other stars from the universe. And then there is also the moonlight which is nothing more than the sun reflected upon the Earth's only natural satellite. If that isn't a wonder then I don't know what it is. And even so, few people appreciate you."

A tear fell from Luna's right eye while she was still staring at the beauty of the full moon.

"And here I am, mother, your precious moonchild, suffering here along with you."

When Edo was coming back from the city all jolly and with his hair and clothes rather messy, he walked by the beach on his way to the UFO and when he turned his head to the sea he saw Luna bathing naked with her sight fixed at the moon.

"Wow, I've never seen Luna like this…" Edo said to himself and he quickly hid behind a tree and kept peeking at the girl.

After Luna rubbed the water on her body she lay on her back and simply floated on the water in whatever direction the currents would take her, sitting in the position of the cross. With the water touching her hair and ears she closed her eyes and became one with the sea. At last she was at peace and she would forget all the worries that she usually had during daytime.

"She's so beautiful…" Edo whispered while approaching the shores as well to get a better view of the girl. "Would she mind if I joined?"

In the next moment he slipped on a shell and fell with his mouth in the water and his eyes above it. When he looked in front he had the embarrassment to see Luna's legs and the zone between them floating on the water not far away from him. The brown haired teen immediately blushed and his nose bled in the water.

"I must be the luckiest man on Earth…" Edo thought and not resisting the pressure of his hormones anymore he fainted on his back right after he got up from the water.

But little did he know that Luna had fallen asleep and that was the reason why she did not notice him at all.

Near midnight at the center of the city there was a grave like silence. Tiger and Leona both sat behind a trash can that was close to the flat at which The Monk lived. Since the lights at the criminal's apartment weren't on the whole night they deduced that nobody was home so they had to wait. During those long hours of waiting they did not say a word to each other for they did not want to risk exposing themselves to anyone. It was very tiresome, but their goals were motivating both to endure.

Finally Leona woke Tiger up from his thoughts by hitting one of his left ribs with her right elbow and pointing at the darkened alley that was located a few feet away from the entrance of the flat.

"He's coming." Leona whispered and Tiger turned his attention to the alley. "You better get going while I take care of him."

"Are you sure?" Tiger asked and Leona gave him a stare filled with confidence which assured him. "Fine, I'm going."

The blonde teenage boy ran as fast as he could and in a few seconds he was inside the flat. A few seconds after he entered The Monk came out of the alley looking rather secretive. The killer was making slow steps trying to sneak into the building unnoticed. But just in that moment he sensed that there was another presence and he made a few steps back preparing for an attack. Leona came out of her hideout naturally and then she turned to The Monk to analyze him better.

"So you must be the oh so famous Monk. I am Leona, nice to meet you!" the girl spoke to the murderer which did not respond to her in any way. "Dressed fully in black, yeah you're the stereotypical murderer from what I see."

The Monk clenched his right fist and Leona smiled seeing that she immediately got a reaction.

"I heard many rumors about you and your murders. From what I understand you are naturally a sadist. You like seeing others suffer." Leona continued and she noticed a nod of satisfaction coming from her opponent. "Good, I like that."

The Monk stretched his hands and then he searched his robe's pockets and took out two silver claws which he put on his left hand's index and middle fingers, then he also took out a little bottle in which he dipped both. Leona had watched the whole scene with great interest and while the killer was dipping the claws she commented:

"Oh, so this is how you kill. Funny, it's kind of like how a snake kills its prey. Tell me, what is the preferred region for your strike?"

Suddenly The Monk jumped at her trying to stab her with the poisoned claws. But little did he expect that Leona had fast reflexes and before he knew it she dodged the attack, appeared behind him and gave him a powerful punch in the back which hurt his spine and made him groan. The Monk turned to the girl and made a few steps back while trying to analyze the situation better.

"Did you really think that I'm just a pathetic victim waiting to be killed at your hands? Think again pal, I am a killer just like you, I am the Lioness!" Leona said and then the wind blew through her mane making it messy but not taking away her imposing image.

The Monk rushed once again at her and tried to get both his hands on her neck but once again Leona dodged and this time she also tripped him. As she watched the killer trying to get up she laughed with satisfaction and continued speaking:

"Hahaha, you're not as tough as I expected you to be. And while you were smart enough to not leave clues for the chosen duelists or the police, you gave me an important clue: your groan. Your voice was low and I immediately realized that you are a male!"

Upon hearing this The Monk was enraged like never before. He rushed at Leona this time aiming for her heart but unfortunately she once again predicted his move and dodged it quicker than him. This time she also decided to fight back so she used her sharp nails and scratched The Monk's left arm with her left hand. The assassin stopped and covered his bleeding left arm with his right hand while staring at Leona that was both satisfied and in control of the situation.

"I also noticed from what I heard that you like putting your victims in extreme situations to discover their limits, to see where they can go. You lack remorse and you're always in control of the situation. You're powerful and dominant over your terrified victims and you also enjoy seeing them fearful and helpless." Leona said and then she noticed that The Monk had ceased breathing heavily meaning that he was astonished of what she had told him. "That was a look into your soul, hope you enjoyed it. And I hope you also like being in the same situation as your victims."

Leona then took out a knife from her dress and the shocked Monk began to back down towards the flat. But before he could get his feet on the stairs, Leona appeared behind him and punched him in the back yet again causing him to turn to her and once again back down in the opposing direction. That didn't matter because she still stabbed him in the same wound that she caused with her nails. Leona then pulled the knife out and looked with interest at the blood that was staining the blade. The Monk started looking around thinking of a way to escape when the girl spoke back at him:

"Yeah, you may have murdered four people but you're nothing but a pathetic excuse for a killer! When faced with someone of the same rank you're obviously outclassed. I wonder if you're as pathetic in dueling as well."

Leona took out her deck which shined with a bright golden aura. The Monk gathered enough strength in his left arm to use it and pull out his deck. Two dueling tables rose from the ground and both put their decks on them and thus their match began.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." Leona said and then she drew two cards and discarded Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore".

The Monk's turn came and he summoned Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroyed it to gain another card in his mana zone. Afterwards Leona's turn came once again.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

Leona revealed the top three cards of her deck which were Aqua Surfer, Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast and Bega, Vizier of Decay, the last two going to her hand and Aqua Surfer landing in her graveyard. The Monk then summoned Iron Arm Tribe and gained yet another card in his mana zone.

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!" Leona said and then a two headed lion that had its right half and head blue with a white mane and its left half and head skeletal with a black mane appeared behind her and roared.

The Monk was obviously unimpressed by her creature. He simply drew a card, charged mana and then casted Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which put Volg Thunder in the battle zone. By the creature's effect The Monk began to mill Leona's deck. The cards that went to her graveyard were Kibbate Cat, Spirit of Heaven's Gate, Heaven's Gate and Toughguy Pelnyar, Spirit of Heaven Attack. Then by Raiden Hole's second effect The Monk destroyed Iron Arm Tribe which landed in his mana zone and he also put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone.

"Heh, your pathetic Volg Thunder is nothing compared to my proud lions!" Leona said and then she raised a Light card in the air which shined brightly. "Behold, foolish one, the power of my Truename Lalala Lionel!"

A lion angel with golden wings, green mane, two lion heads on its shoulders and two pairs of hands that held a golden crystal, a sword and two guns appeared behind the girl.

"When I put Truename Lalala Lionel in the battle zone, we both play Hardcore Judge!" Leona said and then both players revealed their top cards, she having Truename Paw Lion and The Monk having Hustle Castle. "Heh, 8 VS 5, I win and I also put Heaven's Double Tail from my deck into my shields!"

The Monk began his turn, charged mana and summoned Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. By its effect he destroyed both his Volg Thunder and Cheval and replaced them with two Volg Thunders. Once again he chose to mill Leona's deck and the cards that went to her graveyard were Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast, Emergency Typhoon, Aqua Surfer, Aquan Jr's Delivery, Boundaries of Truth and Falsehood, Truename Paw Lion and Wagahai Cat, Spirit of Destiny.

"Heh, trying to mill me? Well coward, let's see you do this while I bring out all my powerful Angel Commands on you!" Leona said and then she put two cards into the battle zone. "I summon Delskiyan, Spirit of Heaven Descent and Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!"

Much to Leona's surprise The Monk did not show fear at all of her mighty creatures. It seemed that in duels he was much more in control than in murders. The black robed murderer summoned a Sol Habaki, the Apocalyptic Sage and then he casted another Hyperspatial Raiden Hole with which he sacrificed Sol Habaki and then he brought out a third Volg Thunder and a Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit. With Volg Thunder's effect Leona's deck was once again targeted and cards fell from it to the graveyard, those being Heaven's Cube, Heaven's Double Tail, Emergency Typhoon, Wagahai Cat, Spirit of Destiny and Bega, Vizier of Shadow. Afterwards a Fire card from The Monk's hyperspatial zone floated and put itself into the battle zone onto a stack which consisted of the three Volg Thunders and Cheval. Since their total cost was greater than 20 The Monk could get into the battle zone the only evolution psychic creature out there: Storm Genji Double Cross, the Super Temporal. All of a sudden a beacon of fire rose into the sky and out of it came a huge red dragon with a fire mane and two sharp swords with chains. The dragon stared upon the amazed Leona and The Monk ended his turn.

"Tsh, I have only three cards left in my deck. Next turn he'll awaken Last Storm Double Cross, attack with it, spam his Volg Thunders, mill my deck and win. I have to end this now!" Leona thought and then she placed a card into her battle zone upon another saying. "I evolve Delskiyan into Trueangel King Leo the Star!"

All of a sudden a new lion angel rose in Leona's army to oppose The Monk's creatures. This one was wearing a yellow armor, had two golden auras above its head and two golden wings, wielded a golden and white sword and had the head of a golden lion with white mane.

"Go King Leo the Star, triple break his shields!" Leona ordered and the creature swung its sword and slashed off three of The Monk's shields. "Auzesu, break his final shields!" she continued and the dark green demonic angel swung its sword and did the same, leaving The Monk defenseless. "You're all mine now! Truename Lalala Lionel, todomeda!"

The creature jumped at The Monk ready to slash him but then a small plane like creature appeared in its way and was the one that received the blow from its sword instead. The Monk had used Ninja Strike to summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, turn it into a blocker and stop the attack.

"Tsh, still not giving up, eh? Ashliger, todomeda!" Leona ordered and the two headed lion jumped at The Monk as well.

This time a purple demonic frog jumped out of nowhere and used its long tongue that was shaped like a mace to hit the two headed lion and destroy it. The Monk had used another Ninja Strike and summoned Hanzou, Menacing Phantom which gave Ashliger -6000 power and destroyed it. Not having what to attack with anymore, Leona ended her turn.

The girl lowered her head down and clenched both her fists in anger. She was so close to defeating The Monk in a duel, but in the end luck did not favor. As she was waiting for her opponent to start his turn and mill what was left of her deck, Tiger came out of the flat and noticed the whole situation.

"Oh, am I bothering?" the chosen nature duelist ironically asked.

"What a time you chose to pop up." Leona replied with the same tone.

"Well since I am here, I guess I can do some tricks."

Tiger took out a small bomb from one of his pockets and tossed it at The Monk. The bomb exploded and a huge wall of smoke came out. The killer coughed hard and tried to blow the smoke away. When everything was clear he saw that both Tiger and Leona were gone and same was for the girl's cards. In a fit of rage The Monk kicked his dueling table.


	61. Secrets

On a calm and warm late June night, inside an abandoned apartment, three figures met far away from the knowledge of the world. The tallest of them was a male in his late teens with spiky brown hair and was wearing a short sleeved white T shirt, grey shorts and sandals. Another was tan skinned and was wearing a pair of glasses, sandals, shorts and a short sleeved white T shirt that was covered by a black vest. The last one was a girl with long blue hair that contrasted her blue eyes and which wore a gray sleeveless shirt, black sleeves on her arms that weren't attached to her shirt, a blue tie, a black mini skirt and long black boots. The trio sat by a table and all put their bags that they were carrying on it.

"First of all, I must confess that I am happy to see you both safe and sound." the tall one spoke.

"Same to you, Robert." the other male replied. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, the month's ending soon and it seems that a lot of things have happened. So Nolan and Hanna, what info have you managed to gather?"

"Not much on my side I am afraid." the girl apologized while taking out a piece of handwritten paper and an official printed document.

"What are those?" Nolan curiously asked while taking a quick look at them.

"This small piece of paper contains what I could transcribe from listening to that secret radio frequency that I managed to find after weeks of search. It seems that Tigra uses this to give orders to THEM members around the whole world."

"And what order did she exactly give?" Robert asked.

"Greetings, my Hot Emotional Monsters, it is I, your great leader Tigra. I wish to announce you that everything is ready for its next stage. On the 7th of July stage D of our Grand Plan will finally take place after six months of waiting." Hanna read.

"I see. What about the piece of paper?"

"Oh, that's an arrangement for Tigra to stay at the best room of our city's hotel. She's coming on the 1st of July to stay in town for seven days."

"The exact time for her plan's next phase." Nolan remarked. "I so wonder what she could be cooking up."

"I have my theory, but until then, Nolan could you be kind as to give us what info you have managed to collect?" Robert demanded.

"Sure, in a minute!"

The teen then began to search in his bag with excitement easily read on his eager face.

Meanwhile at the city of the chosen duelists, a public transport rocket landed near the center at a public station. Once its doors opened a large crowd of people walked out and dispersed all around the buildings. The only one that remained in the station all alone was a fifteen year old boy dressed in a blue sleeveless jacket, wooden sandals and a black turban that was covering most of his bald head, having three spiky bits of hair raise up. The boy stretched his arms and exclaimed while admiring the city:

"At long last Alwyn the Onsen is back, la!"

Then he searched in his pockets and pulled out a newspaper, something that had become extremely rare due to the prevalence of online internet news, and he walked to the nearest street lamp and opened it to read for himself:

"Mysterious assassin makes two more victims! Recently The Monk has killed the principal of the Duel Masters school and one of his students. Their bodies were found on the beach. The chosen duelists declare that the reasons for why their friends were killed are still unknown. The police cannot do anything as they have no clues or trails of the criminal. How long will our city stand under the terror of The Monk?"

Upon finishing reading the article Alwyn threw the newspaper to the first trash bin he found and then he began to wander the city's streets while laughing silently.

"Hahaha, those stupid chosen duelists don't know how to catch one single criminal! But no worries, for Alwyn the Onsen will accept this challenge and before anyone knows it, I will have The Monk unmasked for the world to see, ah!"

Back at the three teens, Nolan put on the table a small camera and a large piece of paper that had many words printed on it. After closing his bag he grabbed the camera, opened it and showed it to his fellow teammates while saying:

"During these days I managed to get a certain friend of mine that is an agent working undercover in the THEM headquarters sneak this camera of mine inside. While he couldn't record much, what he managed to capture will prove to be of great value!"

With the intro speech being said, Nolan pressed the play button and thus turned on the video. On the camera's screen they saw a darkened hallway in which they could barely distinguish five figures dressed in five colored robes sitting on their knees in front of a door. The door opened and light filled the corridor as a white haired girl dressed in a golden armor with sharp spikes and with a black X shaped mask covering her face walked to them.

"Tigra-sama!" they all bowed their heads as a sign of respect.

"Oh my precious elite, you have all trained so hard for our cause, haven't you?" she spoke like a mother to her children.

"Yes we have, our master!" a suave male voice came from the yellow robe that had the solar symbol of the light civilization. "We would never dream of letting you down!"

"Oh and why should you? After all, I have made you all what you are today. The best way of showing me your gratitude is by fighting for my cause!"

"Master, forgive me for interfering, but when are we going to begin our full attack on them?" a colder but calculated voice came from the blue robe that had the wave symbol of the water civilization.

"Very soon, once the first week of July has passed." Tigra answered to her minion and then she turned to the rest. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

The five servants shook their heads and the girl grinned.

"Good, that means that everything is going according to plan. You are all dismissed for now! Prepare for battle, for the moment of our uprising is fast approaching!" she ordered and then she turned around and disappeared behind the doors which closed.

The video ended and both Robert and Hanna were surprised of what they had seen.

"Do you have any idea on who those five people might be?" Robert asked.

"I haven't got the slightest clue, but I do suspect that they are using the five civilizations." Nolan answered. "Oh, and that's not all, on this piece of paper I've got a phone conversation between two THEM members of different ranks. Here, it should be an interesting read."

Nolan offered the paper to his two friends and they both stared at it with great interest.

_X: Infernal hails, brother! How are you today?_

_Y: Excellent, brother. We have managed to infiltrate most of our influence in the parliament and government and soon it will be a matter of time until the army is under our command!_

_X: That is great news! I wish to tell you that Tigra-sama has made a change in plans. It seems that we have to move faster than usual._

_Y: How so?_

_X: She wants to begin the attacks around the 7__th__ of July which means that we need to be in control of the country's military force by the end of the month. _

_Y: If that is the case, then I will do my best to achieve this goal for us. But until then I have one hindrance to occupying the post of leader of the parliament, and that is the election. I fear that my opponent is gaining much more popularity and I might lose._

_X: What kind of opponent is he or she?_

_Y: Oh, the usual corrupt person that manages to trick others into admiring him so that only he could benefit from everything._

_X: I see, if that is the case then it won't be hard taking him or her down. All that we need is to find something that will compromise them. Do not worry about that, though, as a fellow member of THEM, you will fully receive help from your brothers, but only if you promise to return that help._

_Y: That help will be returned fully once I am in power, and that's when we will be controlling the military and it won't be long until the attacks begin!_

_X: May Zakira-sama bless you for your words! I will be sending two agents of mine to help you with the election. You will recognize them by handshake. Make sure that everything happens as planned and take care! Hail!_

_Y: Hail!_

"Woah, that was… I have no words…" Hanna mumbled while putting down the paper.

"I know, it seems that Tigra's power and influence is growing to a global scale." Nolan remarked.

"It's not only that, guys, she plans to start a gigantic frigging war!" Robert exclaimed. "And from what you've presented me now, it's more than obvious that the war is going to start on the 7th of July!"

"Now, now, there's no need to panic, that's what she would want to see us." Hanna intervened. "We must keep our mind calm all the time and we must analyze this situation that we're in."

"Alright, but until then I'm curious of what info you managed to gather from Tigra." Nolan said to Robert and he immediately began searching in his bag.

Meanwhile at the city Alwyn was wandering in its center between the darkened alleys that were delimited by abandoned buildings and whistling. Even though he was all alone in a gloomy place in the middle of the night he was more than confident in his own powers. His mind was set on only one thing and that was catching the murderer that was terrorizing the city and showing everyone what a great duelist he was. After failing at being a villain as Kaizer's minion, he decided that he was going to turn a new leaf and begin a new life as a hero.

Everything was settled: his goal was set, his target was chosen, his plan was ready, all that he needed was for his villain to show up so that he would heroically defeat him. And for that he needed to somehow lure him outside. Once he found himself out of the darkened alley in the middle of the street, he began screaming like a madman:

"Hey Monk, come out and face me! The great Alwyn the Onsen is throwing this challenge to you! Come on are you a coward, Monk? Can't handle the greatness of the Onsen? The water's too hot for you? I am waiting, la!"

The inhabitants of that area turned on their lights and went to the windows only to find poor Alwyn shouting like someone that had recently escaped the mental hospital. Thinking that maybe he would shut up, everyone ceased giving him attention and returned to their activities.

"What's the matter? Too scared to face me? I guess I will have to tell the chosen duelists who you really are!" Alwyn continued and then he heard a small noise coming from the alley behind him. "What's that, ah?"

When the Hot Spring duelist turned his back he had the great satisfaction of seeing a person dressed in a black robe with a hood covering his face and two silver claws on his left hand come out of the alley.

"Finally you showed up, la!" Alwyn said. "Alright Monk, it's time to settle this once and for all!"

"Who are you and how do you know my identity?" The Monk asked using a voice changer.

"I am the great Alwyn the Onsen! And no, I don't know who you are; I lied to get you out of your hideout. Funny you fell for it, ah."

In the next moment The Monk clenched his fist in anger, put the voice changer back in his robe and took out a glowing deck. Happy to see that his challenge was accepted, Alwyn also took out his deck. The two entered the dark alley where two dueling tables rose from the ground. Both put their decks on them, set their cards and thus their duel began.

The Monk began by charging mana with Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and then casting Bloody Cross which made the top two cards of both their decks land in their graveyards. Alwyn got Immediate Effect! Hot Springs and Fist Ace, the Meteoric in his graveyard. The Monk got Leaf Storm Trap and Hustle Castle. Then The Monk used Gravity Zero and summoned Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight for free. Alwyn's turn came and he charged mana with Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows and ended. Then when The Monk's turn came again, he charged mana with Sol Habaki, the Apocalyptic Sage and summoned Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King and by its effect he returned Bloody Cross to his hand. When Alwyn's turn came again, he charged mana with Aqua Surfer and said:

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card!"

The Monk began his turn by charging mana and casting Bloody Cross yet again which got two more cards from each decks to their graveyards. Alwyn got Apache Hyahho and Qurian while The Monk got Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Afterwards due to Giovanni the 10th The Monk returned Bloody Cross to his hand yet again and ended.

"I summon Qurian and draw a card. Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Alwyn ordered and the red and blue cat jumped at his opponent and slashed one of his shields with its paws.

The shield shards united and turned into a card that shined with a bright green light. The card was Faerie Life and The Monk casted it as a shield trigger and gained one more mana. Then when his turn came again, The Monk simply charged mana and casted yet another Bloody Cross, this time gaining Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King and Jasmine, Mist Faerie in his graveyard while Alwyn got Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and Unicorn Fish. Once again Giovanni the 10th allowed him to return Bloody Cross to his hand.

"I summon Shooting Exedrive! Let's see you resist to this, la! Go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Alwyn ordered and the cat repeated its attack and took down another shield of The Monk. "Qurian, break his shield!" Alwyn continued and the blue Cyber Lord rode with its mini submarine towards The Monk and blasted another shield to pieces. "Shooting Exedrive, break a shield too, la!"

This time The Monk blocked with Bloody Shadow and both creatures got destroyed. Then the killer began his turn and he first casted Bloody Cross. Iron Arm Tribe and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll landed in The Monk's graveyard while Alwyn got Shooting Exedrive and Hot Spring Crimson Meow. But this time The Monk also casted Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroyed Alwyn's Qurian and brought a Volg Thunder in the battle zone which milled the Hot Spring duelist's deck even more, the cards that went to the graveyard being Hyperspatial Shooting Hole, Qurian, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Super Flaming Hell's Scrapper and Aqua Surfer. And once again The Monk returned Bloody Cross to his hand and ended.

"This is not over yet, la! I cast Hot Spring Brain and since you have two shields I draw three cards! Then I also summon Fist Ace, the Meteoric! Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield, ah!"

The red and blue cat meowed loudly and attacked The Monk once again tearing to shreds another one of his shields. Yet again the shield shards united into a card that shined with a green light and its user revealed it as Leaf Storm Trap. By the effect of the spell Alwyn's Fist Ace and The Monk's Giovanni the 10th were sent to their mana zones. Then The Monk's turn came and once again he casted Bloody Cross. The cards that landed in his graveyard were Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom. Alwyn got Fist Ace, the Meteoric and Hot Spring Crimson Meow. Then The Monk also casted Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which brought a second Volg Thunder in the battle zone. Once again Alwyn's deck got milled and the cards that fell into his graveyard were Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows, Hyperspatial Shooting Hole, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and Immediate Effect! Hot Springs. Then The Monk attacked Hot Spring Crimson Meow with the other Volg Thunder and destroyed it.

"Alright, la, it's time to finish you up!" Alwyn said and when he drew his next card he had the shock of seeing that it was the last of his deck. "Oh no, I've got a deck out! You tricked me, la!"

In the next moment an explosion occurred and Alwyn fell on the ground heavily injured. The Monk rushed from his dueling table to him, raised the victim's head up and in the next moment the killer's poisoned silver claws penetrated Alwyn's neck and spread the poison into his blood vessels. The poor Hot Spring duelist crawled on the ground in agonizing pain until the venom finally made its effect and he gave up his last breath. Proud of the perfect crime that he made, The Monk packed up his cards and disappeared in the dead of the night, leaving Alwyn's body alone in the darkened alley.

Returning to the trio of teens, Nolan and Hanna were surprised to see that the only thing that Robert pulled out of his bag was a map of their country which he elegantly laid on the table.

"During these last months of search I managed to find more ex-THEM members who were more than willing to give me info regarding Tigra. Now I don't know much about how THEM operates or what their actual intentions are, but what I do know are the locations of Tigra's main headquarters!" Robert said and then he drew five different circles on the map. "As you can see, she prefers big cities as she has a base in the south, one in the north, one in the east, one in the west and one in the center, all located in metropolises. And to be more exact, the THEM headquarters are all located in the basements of giant and developed buildings. The organization's members manage to get in using their secret salute and whispering a secret password to the guards. Also once inside they are immediately scanned by a robot so that everyone is sure that there is no spy infiltrated. On that note, I must confess that I'm surprised your man has managed to sneak that camera in and out, Nolan."

"Hehe, don't worry, the guy's really clever." Nolan winked at him. "Anyway, do you happen to know how we can infiltrate in the THEM headquarters?"

"Yeah, if we could do that, we would have a huge chance on defeating this organization and finishing Tigra once and for all." Hanna said.

"I know that, but in order for us to enter their headquarters we need to cook up a plan. But wait, there's still more!" Robert continued. "From a recently fired THEM member that had managed to survive being killed by his former brothers I found out that Tigra had sent an assassin to keep the chosen duelists busy while she was working on her dirty plans."

"The Monk!" both Hanna and Nolan exclaimed.

"Yes, that's what I also realized, that The Monk is working for her. Tigra's plan was to have The Monk distract our friends and also steal the Proof of Duelmaster for her."

"Aha, it all makes sense now!" Hanna said.

"Indeed, she had been playing with the chosen duelists like a piano." Nolan added. "Well Robert, is there anything else?"

"I'm afraid this was all that I could find out for now." Robert answered with disappointment. "Anyway, let us recap what we know so far: Tigra plans to take over the state's army and launch an attack somewhere on the 7th of July. She also has an elite composed of five mysterious duelists that seem to be playing an important role in her plan. To top it off, she sent a criminal to distract the chosen duelists and steal the Proof of Duelmaster. And now she plans on coming back to our city, probably to meet up with the criminal, and distract our friends even more until the day of the attack."

"Yep, that's about it." Nolan nodded.

"If that's the case then we've got to get back to our friends immediately!" Hanna suggested. "They will need help in this battle against The Monk and Tigra!"

"Then let's get a move on!" Robert exclaimed.

The three teens packed up their bags and rushed out of the building and also out of the city they were in. Once they found themselves at the outskirts Hanna summoned her Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg and they sat on its back and took off. In less than three hours the sun was rising and the day it was going to bring was one filled with hardships for the heroes and they all had to expect the worst.


	62. Face to face

It was the morning of the first day of July. As the dawn of the sun was shining upon the city, two blonde teenagers were walking towards the police section, one of them holding a bag in her hand. It was Tiger and Leona and once they stopped in front of the metallic shining building, Leona handed the chosen duelist the bag and said:

"Here you've got a knife which has The Monk's blood on it. Also, I heard his real voice for a second and deduced that it's a male."

"I see. But why are you giving me the knife? Don't you worry that the police might find your fingerprints on it?" Tiger asked and the girl laughed as a response.

"Hahaha, as if the police have my fingerprints in their records when they didn't even catch me. However when it comes to The Monk, I do think that his DNA is there. If anything, it's a trail worth following." the girl concluded and then she turned around and walked away.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Somewhere to relax, but don't ya worry I'll be back sooner than you think. Take care of that poor excuse for a killer until then!"

And with those words being said Leona disappeared in the shadows of a small alley. Tiger sighed and then he turned to the police building and started walking towards it.

Meanwhile at the UFO, Subaru and Tsugumi were the first to wake up. After dressing up they opened the door of their room they had the surprise of finding a CD lying on the floor with the words 'From Monk' written on it.

"Oh my God, what does this monster want from us now?!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Calm down, Tsugumi. Maybe he or she has some other intentions." Subaru said while picking up the CD. "Maybe they want to tell us that this whole madness will stop."

Subaru walked to his computer, turned it on and then he placed the CD inside and saw that there was only an avi video on it called 'Invitation'. Tsugumi began to panic and she put her hands on her lover's shoulders while saying:

"Subaru, I'm scared!"

"Calm down, please." Subaru replied and then he clicked on the video and opened it.

In the next moment a video player appeared on the screen and revealed the masked face of Tigra who was smiling at the camera.

"I created The Monk. He is my invention." the girl excitedly said. "I am the brain that created The Monk."

In the next moment The Monk appeared next to Tigra and the camera zoomed out to reveal a dark room and the girl sitting on an armchair.

"This isn't a game. Don't you understand?" Tigra spoke with a more serious voice. "I am waiting for you today in the center of the city at flat C1 last floor apartment 99. This is where I will bring The Monk for you. If you do not come then the murders will continue."

When the video ended both Subaru and Tsugumi were staring at the computer screen with their jaws dropped.

"Subaru, what are we going to do?" Tsugumi asked.

"I'm afraid we have no other choice. We have to go there and try to end this once and for all." Subaru sighed.

Later that day after giving declarations at the police department Tiger went at the morgue to meet with the doctor. There the doctor sat by a computer typing down with speed so the blonde sat on a chair next to him and put the bag with the knife on the table.

"I have to thank you for the venom sample that you gave me last night. I have made my research on it and I've discovered that upon human blood it makes it coagulate blocking arteries and thus leading to the victim's death. However what shocked me the most was how fast it did its effect. Usually for viper venom it would take around five minutes to kill a human being, but this one would kill one in less than a minute!" the doctor said.

"That must mean that The Monk must have some kind of mutated snake pet!" Tiger deduced.

"Either that or he prepared the venom. I saw in its composure some strange chemicals that made its effect faster."

"I see, so that's what the mini-lab inside his apartment was for. Anything else, doc?"

"That's all for now, Tiger. What about you? What did you bring me here?"

"Doctor, I have brought you here a DNA sample of The Monk. Please check your records and find out who that bastard is! From what my sources told me, it's a guy."

"I see." the doctor said while taking the blood stained knife out of the bag. "I'll be sure to check the police's records later today. I promise you that by tomorrow we'll find out who this bastard is!"

"Thanks for everything, doc." Tiger replied and got up from the chair. "Is there anything I could do to help you?"

"Well you could help me write down the causes of death of The Monk's victims. By the way, it seems that he struck again last night. There's a new body there."

The doctor pointed to the farthest bed on which Alwyn's dead body was lying.

By lunch time Subaru and Tsugumi found themselves wandering the dark and unsafe streets of the city's center. Using his phone's GPS Subaru managed to locate flat C1. It was a dark, messy and rather abandoned building just like the others. As the two duelists sat in front of it Tsugumi spoke frightened to her lover:

"I don't think that it's a good idea we came here, Subaru. This atmosphere is really disturbing me."

"No! Don't be afraid. That's how that imbecile will become stronger. Please calm down, my love." Subaru said and grabbed the blonde girl's right hand.

And so the couple slowly entered the flat and they searched each floor looking for apartment 99. When they reached the last floor they saw that its first door had the number 90 on it so they realized that the place of meeting was close by. As they walked down the hallway Tsugumi spoke louder so that she would be heard by those from the flat:

"Tigra, where are you? We arrived."

"Ssh, we don't want to attract too much attention." Subaru tried to reason with Tsugumi.

"Welcome!" a girl's voice resounded behind them.

The two chosen duelists turned and saw a white haired girl dressed in a spiky golden armor with a black X shaped mask covering the upper side her face.

"I created The Monk, Subaru." Tigra proudly spoke.

"Who is it? And does it seem right to you? Is it right to poison someone's mind and turn them into an assassin for your egoistic plans, you monster?" Tsugumi asked.

"Your friend Kokujo destroyed my father and you don't consider him a monster?"

"What's in your head, Tigra? You created a monster to kill our friends? It's absurd." Subaru argued.

"No, it's an eye for an eye. I suffered when my father died. Now you, the friends of my father's murderer, suffer by seeing your loved ones die."

"If I recall, you were rather in love with Kokujo." Subaru said.

"Wow, daddy's girl fell for his killer? Oh, how ironic." Tsugumi added.

"That is none of your business!" Tigra growled and took out a key. "Get inside the apartment. It's time for you two to pay."

"I'm not entering, Tigra. How could I trust someone that wants me dead?" Subaru brought up.

"We're not losing anything if we listen to her. After all, we came all the way here." Tsugumi replied to her lover.

"Oh, it's not good to talk here on the hallway. Some neighbors might hear us." Tigra complained.

"What do you want, Tigra? What are your intentions?"

"I want to negotiate, Subaru. I want the Proof of Duelmaster. Give me that gem."

"This is why you've made all this mumbo-jumbo? Not out of love for your daddy Zakira?" Tsugumi asked.

"I warn you. If you won't comply with my conditions, then The Monk will attack again." Tigra threatened and gesticulated to apartment 99's door with her key.

In a matter of seconds Tigra opened the apartment's door and the trio entered it. After Tsugumi closed the door behind them, Subaru walked to Tigra and spoke firmly:

"Alright Tigra, let's finish this madness. Tell us who The Monk is."

"Everything at its time, Subaru. I'll present him to you when he arrives." Tigra slyly smiled at him.

"Is that bastard coming here? In front of us?" Tsugumi began to panic again.

"Tiger is about to discover him." Tigra said while walking to the living room that had furniture covered by white sheets and soon the two chosen duelists followed her. "This is why I want to propose a pact. If Tiger leaves the city, The Monk will stop killing people. There's no need for anymore dead people."

"How can I trust someone as cold blooded as him who is capable of killing innocent people that might as well be his friends?" Subaru asked and then he realized something. "Wait a minute; it's someone we know, right?"

"Of course, Subaru." Tigra applauded and then she sat down on an armchair. "It's someone who used to be your classmate at Hakuoh's school. You used to see him every day and trust him."

"Is he here now? Call him! So we could finish this reunion!" Tsugumi demanded.

"The Monk?" Tigra acted stupid and crossed her legs.

"That's why you called us, no?"

"He's waiting for my signal so that he knows that there's no danger and that you accepted his conditions."

"Ah, so he also has the nerve to put conditions?!" Subaru burst out.

"It doesn't matter what he wants. If he ceases murdering I'll accept anything." Tsugumi confessed and after a moment of silence in which Tigra just looked at her and Subaru she burst out even worse than her lover. "What do you want? Why did you call us here?!"

"Always impulsive, just like Tiger, hahaha. That's why The Monk always defeats you, hahaha." Tigra remarked and laughed. "I want the Proof of Duelmaster. That's all."

"I don't have the gem."

"Don't lie to me, Tsugumi! I know that you are hiding it somewhere on the UFO. Give me the gem and The Monk will cease his revenge."

"How can I be sure of this?"

"What? You don't trust me, Tsugumi? Nor The Monk?"

"I just want a guarantee that you're not tricking us, Tigra. Finally, after many hardships I am close to Subaru. We just want to be happy. Please don't bring back the ghost of Zakira to fill with hate and sadness the small happiness that we've found in each other's arms. You know how hard it was for both me and Subaru to fight and be together again. If you loved your father so much, please don't stain his memory! Let him rest in peace. Let me and Subaru be happy! Have mercy on us, Tigra!"

"But did your friend Kokujo have mercy on my father Zakira?" Tigra asked and got up from the chair.

"Tell me who The Monk is and I won't tell Tiger where I hid the Proof. I didn't even tell him that information." Tsugumi stood her ground.

"Why do you want to know The Monk's name? You can see his face."

"Tsugumi, we've got company!" Subaru exclaimed and pointed behind making the girl turn her back.

A man dressed fully in black with a hood covering his face and with two silver claws on his left hand entered the apartment and closed the door. Then he slowly approached the two chosen duelists like a predator. Subaru took a defensive position and spoke to him:

"Listen, we are here because Tigra called us. She told us that you will surrender and that you will honor your promise. We will convince Tiger to leave town just like you want. So let's finish this! Tell us who you are and what do you want."

The Monk ignored the chosen darkness duelist and simply passed both him and Tsugumi and joined Tigra sitting by her left. Then the golden armored girl gesticulated at the killer with both arms and said:

"This is the Monk. The one and only! We are both here to negotiate, Subaru. If we reach common ground, The Monk will surrender. Isn't that right, my sweet assassin?"

The Monk turned his head to Tigra and nodded in agreement. Subaru and Tsugumi gave them weird stares and both sat in defensive positions ready for anything.

"You didn't expect this, Subaru. Well, I invented this fine gentleman to obtain the Proof of Duelmaster." Tigra explained. "And I also asked an expert to make me a copy so that I would use it to replace the original. Do you remember Boris the jewel man, Subaru?"

"You mean that man that called Hakuoh-sama back then." Tsugumi intervened.

"Yes, he betrayed me and I had to get rid of him. Pity! He was such a great expert in jewels." Tigra said and then she envisioned The Monk killing old man Boris.

"So you were the thief that wanted to steal the Proof of Duelmaster?" Tsugumi asked.

"Hakuoh-sama should've thought of you when Boris warned him. You are our only remaining enemy." Subaru said with regret.

"And a certain enemy, Subaru. Ever since you chosen duelists refused to join THEM." Tigra replied.

"Who of our former classmates was supposed to replace the Proof with the copy?" Tsugumi brought another question. "The traitor is the assassin next to you, who calls himself The Monk."

"You started this whole disaster just so you could obtain the Proof of Duelmaster?!" Subaru added another question this time with frustration in his voice.

"I need that gem, Subaru, so that I can further my plan and achieve THEM's ultimate goal!" Tigra spoke firmly and decided.

Boom! The apartment's door got blown off and two figures made their appearance. One was really tall and had spiky hair while the other was rather feminine and had long hair.

"Robert! Hanna!" Tsugumi exclaimed with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We came here to warn you of the danger of Tigra, but it seems that we arrived just in time." Hanna said.

"But how did you get here?" Subaru asked.

"When we came to the UFO Luna told us that you went to meet up with The Monk in the center of the city so she called Tiger who gave us the address and we came here as fast as we could." Robert answered in a nutshell.

"Oh lookie, we've got some unexpected guests." Tigra told The Monk. "I hate these types of surprises. Monk, could you please be a dear and take the trash out?"

The Monk nodded and approached the four teens raising his claws in the air and taking an intimidating air. However Robert wasn't scared at all. At long last after so many months of searching he had found Tigra, the one that ruined his life by killing his love interest. Now it was payback time at long last and no Monk was going to stand in his way. The rich boy took out his deck which glowed powerfully and challenged the murderer to a duel. The Monk took out his deck as well and accepted the challenge. Two dueling tables rose from the floor and the rest backed down to watch the match in safer places.

The Monk began the game by casting Faerie Life and getting another card in his mana zone.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Robert said and discarded Bloody Cross from The Monk's hand.

The Monk did not seem to mind losing one of his important spells. He simply charged mana and summoned Iron Arm Tribe which gave him yet another card in his mana zone.

"I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Robert said and revealed the top three cards of his deck which were Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Olzekia, General of Decapitation and Aqua Surfer. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow. Olzekia goes to my hand and Aqua Surfer to the graveyard.

The Monk charged mana, fortified one of his shields with Hustle Castle and ended his turn.

"I cast Energy Stream!" Robert said and drew two more cards. "Gravity Zero, I summon another Bloody Shadow!"

But much to his dismay, Hustle Castle was the beginning of his end. The Monk summoned Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroyed her to get another mana. Then thanks to Hustle Castle he also drew a card which was Jenny, the Dismantling Doll which he gladly summoned. The cards in Robert's hand were Olzekia, General of Decapitation, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga and Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord. The Monk chose to discard Robert's Jenny and then he also drew another card thanks to Hustle Castle.

"Tsh, I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga!" Robert said and a golden angel with two shields that had spikes appeared behind him.

The Monk charged mana and then he cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which brought Volg Thunder to the battle zone. Obviously the killer chose to mill Robert's deck and the following cards fell to his graveyard: Hide and Seek, Hyperspatial Vice Hole, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Ghost Touch, Energy Stream and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom. Also The Monk destroyed Iron Arm Tribe which went to his mana zone and put a Thunder Tiger in the battle zone. Then thanks to Hustle Castle he drew two cards and thus ended his turn.

"Darn, my spells!" Robert cursed and he looked at his graveyard with disappointment.

However in the next moment his hand glowed with a yellow and purple aura which meant that the next card he would draw would be a good one. And so it was.

"Evolution! Bloody Shadow, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!" Robert said and a golden angelic queen with a red cape appeared behind him. "Let's see you cast your precious spells now, Monk! Go, Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields!"

When the attack was over The Monk was disappointed to see that his shields were Leaf Storm Trap and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. But that didn't matter for he had to win at all costs. The Monk started his turn by linking Volg Thunder and Thunder Tiger into Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast, and then he charged mana and summoned Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. By Jenny's effect Robert showed the cards in his hand which were Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord and Olzekia, General of Decapitation. The Monk chose to discard Olzekia, and then he drew three cards due to Hustle Castle's effect and ended his turn.

"This isn't over yet!" Robert declared. "I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole which returns Olzekia to my hand and puts Olzekia, Temporal Sword General in the battle zone! Now go, Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields!"

Now The Monk had only one shield left and Robert was regaining control over the battle zone. But that didn't seem to matter much for the killer. He simply began his turn as if nothing important happened, charged mana and summoned Sol Habaki, Apocalyptic Sage. By its effect The Monk placed Jasmine, Mist Faerie in his mana zone and returned Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman to his hand. And since he had eight untapped mana cards left, he summoned Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. By its effect The Monk destroyed Sol Habaki, Bloody Shadow, Giovanni, Jenny and Volg Tiger, letting only Thunder Tiger remain in the battle zone. Then he replaced them with four Volg Thunders and a Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit. Using the effects of his Volg Thunders, The Monk milled Robert's deck. One by one the cards fell into his graveyard, those being Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Ghost Touch, Aquan Jr's Delivery, Aqua Surfer, Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia, Rose Castle, Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, Perfect Galaxy, Spirit of Immortality, Hyperspatial Vice Hole, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Energy Stream. Thus Robert reached deck out and an explosion occurred.

When the smoke cleared away the chosen duelists and Hanna had the shock of seeing Robert lying heavily wounded on the floor with his cards on him. There was no sign of The Monk or Tigra.

"Robert!" Hanna exclaimed and rushed to help him.

"We've got to take him to the hospital!" Tsugumi suggested.

"You do that; meanwhile I'm calling the cops!" Subaru said and took out his phone.

Outside the flat, Tigra and The Monk were hiding behind a trash can in a dark alley nearby. The leader of THEM had called for her minions to send her a limousine and she was waiting for them. In those few minutes that she had left, she decided to instruct her assassin on the next part of their plan.

"You must be very careful. Tiger is preparing to catch you. And I don't want you to fail. You must do everything that we planned." Tigra said and The Monk nodded to her. "Good. Listen here, since Leona got your DNA she most certainly gave it to Tiger and now he has a trail to follow. Very soon he will discover who you are and will be tracking you down. In other words we don't have much time left. Today they will be busy trying to figure out your identity but if THEM manages to hack the police's computer database in time there might still be chances for you. If that happens then tomorrow night when things calm down I want you to sneak inside the UFO and steal the Proof. I want to get my hands on the Proof as fast as possible!"


	63. Fight of the Zabi Prince

If the saying that luck favored the bad guys was true, then fate indeed had a cruel way of proving it to our heroes. As the doctor was working tirelessly to find a blood that matched The Monk's DNA in the police's database, THEM managed to pass the security system of the police department and hack their computer erasing all data from them. Upon hearing this news, Tiger was more than angry. All the hard work that he and Leona did that night was for nothing. But there was still hope, as Subaru gave a piece of information that was crucial to his search: The Monk was someone from Hakuoh's class.

That night Tiger called Wally at the UFO and asked him to bring a catalogue with the names of Hakuoh's former class. Then he gathered everyone present in the UFO, meaning Subaru, Tsugumi, Tamma, Luna, Blane and Wally in the living room. There everyone took a seat as he pulled out the catalogue that he received and also a red marker.

"I guess you all know why I gathered you here." Tiger said.

"Yes, someone hacked into the police's computers and you couldn't find The Monk's identity." Subaru replied.

"And you're doing what you should have done at the beginning: search for suspects." Blane added.

"I would've done that before if I had any certain suspects, thank you." Tiger countered and then he showed everyone the catalogue. "Based on what we know so far, I managed to deduce that The Monk was once part of Hakuoh-sama's class and that he is a boy. If that is the case, we will cross out the names from this catalogue until we discover who the real criminal is!"

"Alright, let's get started, I'm looking forward to finding out who killed Hakuoh-sama and Spunky!" Wally said while crossing his arms and legs.

The names written on the catalogue were the following:

Aika Akane

Emi Akiko

Spunky Boy

Marcelo Cabuli

Rad Flames

Subaru Geki

Tamma Gochi

Hikari Hiroko

Chad Jones

Edo Kanda

Candy Kincaid

Tiger King

Jenny Lost

Emily Love

Luna Mikado

Johnny Parson

Sora Rukkora

Riko Saki

Tsugumi Shirayama

Wally Way

"Since The Monk is a boy, all girls are immediately excluded!" Tiger said and crossed out Aika's, Emi's, Hikari's, Candy's, Emily's, Jenny's, Luna's, Sora's, Riko's and Tsugumi's names. "Alright, half of the suspects are gone. Let's focus on the rest." Tiger continued crossing out names with the marker. "Spunky's dead, Marcelo's dead, Rad's dead. Subaru…"

"You know very well that I can't be The Monk." Subaru defended himself firmly.

"He's right, he was attacked by The Monk in our bathroom and I saved him." Tsugumi added.

"Oh really? But what if you, his lover, are also his accomplice and the one helping him out?" Tiger pointed the marker at Tsugumi.

"Tiger, Tsugumi was with Subaru visiting Hakuoh-sama when The Monk killed Boris. Also, Subaru was with us when Blane dueled The Monk." Luna reminded.

"Oh, I see. Well, Subaru's clean then." Tiger said and cut the chosen darkness duelist's name off the list. "Let's see who's next. Aha, Tamma!"

"Y-yes?" the red haired child gulped as Tiger stared at him with suspicious eyes.

"Care to share some of your homicidal thoughts with us, dear teammate, or should I say mass murderer and deceiver?!" Tiger spoke harsher to the boy who began to panic more and more.

"Tiger, he's just a kid, do you honestly think he would do such horrible things?" Tsugumi asked.

"Right now to me everyone is suspect! I trust no-one!" Tiger replied and then he returned to the boy who was sweating with fear. "Why are you so panicked, Tamma? Is it because you are hiding something?"

"N-no…" Tamma mumbled.

"Oh really? That isn't the answer of someone who is innocent." the blonde male insisted and approached his head to the child's until they reached eye contact. "Tell me right now what you have to hide and I promise I won't make you suffer through an interrogatory!"

"I… I…"

"I'm listening. Spill it out, Tamma."

"Ok."

Sighing Tamma closed his eyes and made two pieces of plastic fall from them into his right hand. When he opened his eyes again Tiger was surprised to see that they were as red as his hair.

"Huh? What's the meaning of this?" Tiger asked.

"Ever since I was little I was always bullied for having red eyes and considered a freak. My mom tried to hide that by giving me these contacts that changed my eye color from red to green. I'm sorry I had been hiding this from all of you, honestly!" Tamma bowed down shamefully.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for…" Tiger sweated.

"Give it a rest, will you?" Subaru intervened. "Tamma-kun and Edo-kun were both with me and Tsugumi visiting Hakuoh-sama when The Monk had committed his first murder. So you can scratch them both off the list. And on a personal note Tiger, how stupid could you be to think that an eleven year old could do such horrible things?"

"Shut up and let me do my research, will you?" Tiger replied while cutting off Tamma's and Edo's names from his list. "Let's see, next is Chad Jones. I may not know him well, but I do remember that he was a local troublemaker at our school."

"Indeed, for once I agree with you." Subaru nodded. "This guy might be a suspect."

"I'll keep his name on the list." Tiger said while encircling it. "Alright, next is… Tiger King. Gonna cross it out and…"

"Wait just a minute, Tiger!" Blane intervened. "How do we know that you can't be The Monk?"

"Yeah, you picked on poor Tamma without thinking twice. Why shouldn't we do the same thing on you?" Subaru added and then he winked to Blane who responded to him with a small smile.

"Indeed, if I remember you were dressed in a monk costume once and had a sticky note with 'I am The Monk!' written on!" Tamma brought up.

"Think logically, you idiots, I faced The Monk in his own apartment and I also was present with Subaru and Wally when Blane faced the killer. What chances are there that I could be The Monk?" Tiger asked while crossing his name out.

"None, we just wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine." Blane stuck his tongue out and Subaru laughed.

"Moving on!" Tiger ignored the fact that he was trolled. "Johnny Parson, that's Chad's best friend."

"More like only friend." Tamma commented.

"He was always helping Chad with his naughty pranks on other people. If anything, Chad must be The Monk and Johnny his accomplice." Wally suggested.

"Indeed, he's suspect." Tiger replied while encircling Johnny's name. "And last on the list we got… Wally Way!"

Suddenly everyone's attention turned to Wally and the atmosphere began to seem rather uncomfortable to him as he began to sweat a bit. Tiger approached him like a predator and once they were face to face he said:

"Well, well, Wally, you may be the last on the list, but it seems that there is a lot of evidence against you."

"Such as?"

"Well for starters, your absence during most of The Monk's actions. Also the outcome of some murders, like for instance you killed Hakuoh-sama knowing that this was the only way you could take over his school. Then you also killed Spunky because he was the only one that could rival you in the will. But in the end you didn't think everything out, did you Wally?"

"E-everything is a misunderstanding…" Wally mumbled.

"Honestly Tiger, did you forget that Wally was with us when Blane dueled The Monk? Also, Wally was with me during the night Hakuoh-sama was murdered. There's no way Wally is The Monk unless he could somehow teleport himself." Subaru defended.

"Tsh, fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you!" Tiger threatened Wally and then he scratched his name off the list. "So far the only suspects we have left are Chad and Johnny."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Luna asked.

"Tomorrow I am going to Wally's school to personally talk to those two. I'll see it that we find out who The Monk is until the sun sets!" Tiger promised.

Meanwhile wandering the city was none other than Shubham. Ever since he heard that Tiger had failed in discovering The Monk's identity, he decided on taking matters on his own. During the afternoon he had searched in the center of the city without any result. That was mostly because the police had come to The Monk's apartment and were doing their own investigations meaning not only that Shubham couldn't have access but also that The Monk had changed his base most certainly. As the night fell, the Zabi Prince decided that he would change his destination to the mall thinking that maybe The Monk was hiding there trying to shop or waiting for a new victim.

As he expected, the mall was crowded with loud unsuspecting people that Shubham perceived as both stupid and annoying. He tried to avoid as much contact as possible and wandered the shops looking for the killer or at least a trail. At the first floor all that he saw were people and clothes, at the second floor he saw people and jewels, at the third floor people and technology, at the fourth floor people and food, at the fifth floor people and cyber books, thing which was rather new to him, at the sixth floor a few people and many sex objects, thing which made him get rather embarrassed, and finally at the seventh and final floor he had reached a cinema. Shubham saw on a holographic ad that the movie which was playing was Scream, a classic horror movie from the previous century. Shubham stared at the white mask with black eyes and mouth that was meant to symbolize Edward Munch's The Scream painting. He then imagined the faces of all of The Monk's victims and tried to reach to them and feel the same fear and agony they felt when dealing with that psychopath. For once Shubham could sympathize with someone other than him. Sighing he closed his eyes and tried to remember his teacher Kokujo and his clan.

However he woke up from his thoughts as people got out of the cinema and he realized that the movie was over. He quickly hid behind a plant and watched carefully everyone that got out until he set his eyes on a duo. A brown haired teenager dressed in a blue school uniform with a blue tie was walking with someone dressed in a black robe with a black hood covering their head and two silver claws on their left hand. It was none other than The Monk and he was hanging out with Edo.

"Man, that movie was totally awesome, don't you agree?" Edo excitedly spoke to The Monk which nodded as a response. "I so liked how the killer kept bumping out of nowhere to scare his victims. It was so scary and awesome! And I especially loved how he stabbed them to death!"

The Monk then leaned to Edo and whispered something to his ear.

"Haha, you're right, we do have similar tastes. That's why we're great buddies!" Edo said and then both laughed. "Say, you up for some ice cream?" the brown haired boy asked and The Monk nodded again. "Cool! I'll pay; you just find a good bar!"

And so the duo rushed to the elevator and descended to the fourth floor. Shubham then stopped in front of the same elevator and slapped his hand onto his face while saying:

"Edo, you idiot, look what you've gotten into! You're 'great friends' with a mass murderer and you probably don't even know it! Who knows how The Monk could have manipulated him this whole time."

When the elevator returned to the seventh floor, Shubham took it and went down to the fourth floor as well. And thus he kept following Edo and The Monk around, going after them at ice cream bars, pizza restaurants, circuses, fun fairs, video game arcades and anime conventions. At one point he was so tired of stalking them that he wondered how The Monk could have so much energy to endure the stuff Edo was subjecting him to.

Finally as midnight came, Edo and The Monk stopped in front of a lamp post laughing like two friends that just came out of the greatest party of their lives. They both knocked their bottles of beer and finished the alcoholic beverage. Afterwards Edo looked at his cell phone and saw that it was 12:02.

"Wow, it's getting late, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow." Edo said but then The Monk approached him and whispered something to his ear. "Oh, you're coming to the UFO instead? Awesome, I'll make sure to prepare some video games for us to play. Oh, and would you like to meet Suby and the rest? They're really awesome guys!"

The Monk nodded and then after a quick handshake he and Edo parted ways. The killer then turned around and began walking fast towards the outskirts of the city much to Shubham's surprise. Having nothing better to do, the teen followed him at a good distance so that he wouldn't be noticed. It was rather strange to see that The Monk wasn't going home. To him there were only two possibilities: either The Monk knew that the police had come to his home and was going to a new hideout or he knew that he was being followed. Either way, Shubham was prepared for anything.

After thirty minutes of walking non-stop, The Monk finally ceased his activity and ended up at the top of a waterfall. He had gotten out of the city and walked a good portion of miles into the forest until he reached that river and waterfall that were ending up in the sea. The killer simply sat there and stared at the water as Shubham was approaching him while hiding behind trees.

"Why would he come all the way here? This can't be his hideout. Then this only means that he knew he was being followed and he tried to lure me into a trap. If that is the case, I guess it's time for us to play with our cards on the table!" Shubham thought and then he got out of his hideout and slowly approached the one he was pursuing.

The Monk turned to him and took out a small bottle with viper venom.

"Heh, we meet at long last, Monk." Shubham said while watching the killer dip his silver claws into the venom.

In the very next moment The Monk slid the bottle back in the robe and rushed at Shubham with great speed, aiming the claws at his neck. However, Shubham had his instincts as sharp as Leona's and he grabbed The Monk's left arm with his right hand and then he used his left fist to punch him in the gut. Afterwards he twisted the assassin's left arm with which he used to kill so many people until he was on his knees. Grinning, Shubham pulled off The Monk's hood with his right hand and saw that he was also wearing a black mask. Not wasting anymore time, Shubham also pulled the mask off and threw it in a bush. After a few seconds The Monk turned to him and growled angrily but then the killer had the surprise of seeing Shubham's cell phone camera which he used to take a quick picture of him.

"Heh, nice face you got there, buddy. I may not know who you are, but I am more than certain that Tiger knows." Shubham stuck his tongue out and then he pressed the send button on his phone.

In the meantime The Monk jumped into the bushes and got his mask back on. Then he turned to Shubham with great anger and was ready to attack him once again but the Zabi Prince said to him with a confident voice:

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The photo's already been sent to Tiger, there's no reason to get my cell phone now. Face it, buddy, you've lost!"

In the next moment The Monk took out his dueling deck which shined with greater power than before. Grinning maniacally, Shubham also took out his dueling deck and two tables rose from the ground. Both players set their cards on them and thus their duel began.

The Monk started by casting Bloody Cross which got Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King and Hyperspatial Raiden Hole into his graveyard while Shubham got Jenny, the Suicide Doll and Maxval, Electro-Fuuma in his graveyard.

"Heh, the milling type? What a coward you are." Shubham commented while placing Aqua Surfer in his mana zone. "I end."

The Monk started his turn by charging mana and summoning Jasmine, Mist Faerie which he destroyed to gain a third mana card.

"Well since you like milling, let me give you some of my own! I summon Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess!" Shubham said and he revealed the top cards of The Monk's deck which were Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom. "Heh, Emperor Hole to the graveyard! I end."

The Monk simply charged mana and ended his turn. Having a bad hand really didn't help him at all.

"I summon Zabi Barrel, Western Doll!" Shubham said and The Monk discarded Falconer, Lightfang Ninja. "Hahaha, let's see you try to mill me now when you have only one card in your hand!"

The Monk ignored Shubham's mocking and charged mana, then he fortified one of his shields with Hustle Castle and ended his turn.

"Oh, you using Hustle Castle to replenish your hand? Sorry pal, but not while I'm here!" Shubham said and then he showed a multicolored card to his opponent. "I cast Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole and put Hydra Gilsaurus in the battle zone!"

A three headed beast made of volcanic rock appeared behind Shubham and roared. Then The Monk's turn came and he summoned Iron Arm Tribe which gave him a new mana card and also a card in his hand. Then he also summoned Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight which gave him another card in his hand thanks to Hustle Castle.

"Tsh, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Iron Arm Tribe! Then I put Zabi Rigel, Dragon Bone Keel in the battle zone!" Shubham said and a skeletal Alien with six brown tentacles appeared next to Hydra Gilsaurus.

Fortunately for The Monk, the next card that he drew was Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King which he summoned and thanks to Hustle Castle he drew a card. Then at the end of his turn he returned Bloody Cross to his hand thanks to the effect of Giovanni. Shubham was unimpressed of that move.

"Time to put you out of your misery, I evolve Bella into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons which brings Gallows Cebu Kaiser in the battle zone!" Shubham said and then a demonic black Alien with three mouths, two for arms and one for a chest appeared alongside a white robotic alien that had six tentacles with sharp teeth. "Yahahahahaha, next turn I will Psychic Link Gallows Devil Dragon and then it will be your doom!"

The Monk was now alert for he knew of the danger that was coming. He decided that he would act as quick as possible before it was too late so he cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and brought Thunder Tiger out which got rid of Zabi Rigel and by the Alien's effect Giovanni the 10th was also destroyed. Luckily for The Monk, Hustle Castle gave him a last Giovanni which he gladly summoned and managed to draw yet another card. Afterwards he cast not one but two Bloody Crosses which milled four cards out of each deck. The Monk got Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Leaf Storm Trap, Jasmine, Mist Faerie and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman while Shubham got Cebu Aquman Jr, Zabi Barrel, Western Doll, Ghost Touch and Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard. Afterwards The Monk used Gravity Zero and summoned Bloody Shadow which got him another card in his hand. Then thanks to Giovanni he returned both Bloody Crosses to his hand and ended his turn.

"Tsh, you may have stopped my Gallows, but I still have the upper hand! I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!" Shubham said and revealed the top three cards of his deck which were Maxval, Electro-Fuuma, Aqua Surfer and Terror Pit, the first and the last going to his hand and the middle one landing in his graveyard. "Then I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma! Now go, Gallows Cebu Kaiser, double break his shields!"

Much to Shubham's surprise, The Monk used Ninja Strike and summoned Hanzou, Menacing Phantom which gave -6000 power to his creature and destroyed it.

"Grr, go Zabi Implosion, double break his shields!" Shubham ordered and the demonic Alien fired lasers from its mouths which pierced through two of the killer's shields. "Hydra Gilsaurus, break his shield!" Shubham continued and the rocky beast spat lava from its mouths which melted another shield of The Monk's.

Sadly for Shubham, the attacks were what The Monk needed. First he got a Faerie Life as shield trigger which gave him a new card in his mana zone. Now with ten mana cards he was able to wreck havoc. The killer first cast a Bloody Cross which brought Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Faerie Life in his graveyard and Bella, Corrupt Ghost Princess and Hades Death Gate in Shubham's. Afterwards he used Gravity Zero and summoned another Bloody Shadow. Then what followed next was Shubham's biggest shock ever because The Monk summoned Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman, which was the Zabi Prince's own avatar.

"Oh no, you also use him!" Shubham widened his eyes. "My Zabuza…"

By Zabi Mira's effect The Monk sacrificed Giovanni the 10th and both his Bloody Shadows and then he brought three Volg Thunders out in the battle zone. Thus the milling began and the cards that landed in Shubham's graveyard were Hyperspatial Revive Hole, Aqua Surfer, Energy Stream, Ghost Touch, Jenny, the Suicide Doll, Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard, Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons, Aquan Jr's Delivery, Hyperspatial Blue Black Hole, Hyperspatial Gallows Hole, Terror Pit, Zabi Barrel, Western Doll and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. Thus he was left with just one card in his deck and when he would draw it would mean game over.

"In the end we did the best we could, right Zabuza?" Shubham smiled to the card in his graveyard.

But just to prove how merciless he was, The Monk cast the second Bloody Cross from his hand using the last mana he had and thus the last card from Shubham's deck which was Cebu Aquman Jr landed in his graveyard.

In the next moment an explosion occurred and Shubham along with his cards fell into the waterfall. Smiling, the Zabi Prince spoke his final words:

"Tiger, it's up to you to catch this bastard now. Subaru, it seems that our rivalry ends here."

And thus Shubham disappeared in the cold waters while The Monk emerged victorious from yet another confrontation.

But that victory did not last long, because at the UFO as Tiger was ready to go to bed he got a message from Shubham. It was entitled 'The Monk' and when he opened it he saw the photo which revealed the killer's identity. The chosen duelist widened his yellow eyes and then he spoke with anger:

"When I get my hands on him he is going to wish he was dead!"


	64. Exposed

The next day passed without any special events happening. Everyone at the UFO returned to their normal routine and there was no mention of The Monk and his crimes as everyone preferred to avoid the subject. Tamma and Edo were playing their video games as always, Subaru was sitting in the kitchen reading a book, Blane was wandering the UFO making sure that there was no danger, Tsugumi and Luna were working hard in the kitchen to cook food for that night and Tiger sat all alone in his room meditating. The reason why the girls were making lots of food was because they had Wally as a special guest at the UFO that night and they wanted to treat their friend that was now principal with the highest respect possible in order to stay in good relations with the school. That was also the reason why Blane was concerned for the spaceship's safety, for he wanted nothing and nobody to disturb their dinner.

And so the night came and everything was ready for the party. At Tsugumi's insistence Subaru, Tamma and Blane wore fancy black suits with red ties that made them seem more elegant. The girls also wore long party dresses that were yellow for Tsugumi and blue for Luna. Tamma and Edo sat at the table drooling at the variety of foods that was lying on it. Luna and Tsugumi were discussing in front of the cooking machine about the next plates that they were about to prepare. Subaru was simply admiring the starry sky and he fell once again in his thoughts remembering the last part of Doctor Root's confession.

"_After your parents left with you, I took your brother to my home and tried my best to heal him. I went as far as to try and modify his genes thus changing his hair and eye color and some other traits of his face. Sadly it seemed that it was too late for him. No human force would be able to save him from his imminent fate which was death. So I sat there and desperately watched the poor soul slowly fade away. And then on the day he was supposed to die the most desperate idea came to my head: to send the baby in the creature world and maybe he would be healed then. I didn't think it twice, I summoned Unryu, Sumo Doctor and gave the baby to him so that he would be taken to the Water civilization realm to be healed there. On their way I tried to keep contact with the creature but as they passed above the Fire realm a Val Arthur, Explosive Armor saw them, and viewing the Water Samurai as an enemy the Fire Knight fired both cannons upon them. While defending himself, Unryu dropped the baby which was then taken by a Papra Poorapra. After that incident no matter how much my Water creatures searched the Fire realm we could not find any sign of your brother. I am so sorry, Subaru! I beg of you to forgive me for I will never be able to after this!"_

Subaru sighed and closed his eyes. Then he clenched his left fist and let a tear fall from his left eye.

"Until I find him you will get no forgiveness from me, doctor!" Subaru whispered.

The chosen duelist was awakened from his thoughts when Blane brought Wally in the kitchen who was dressed up in his usual brown uniform with a red tie. The brown haired male with different colored eyes smiled upon seeing the chosen duelists and said:

"It is such a great pleasure meeting you all!" Wally happily said.

"Please take a seat!" Tsugumi offered. "It's such an honor having you here!"

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, dear Mistress of Light!" the brown haired male complimented her and made her blush. "It is indeed great to see my former classmates after all that happened. And this makes me recall of the days when dear Hakuoh-sama was our teacher."

"Yes, those were indeed great times." Luna agreed.

"Especially hearing Tamma snore during classes, and Tiger yawning whenever Hakuoh-sama said something, or watching Luna desperately writing to catch up with the pace of the rest, oh and of course how could I forget of Tsugumi who was so distracted by our teacher's beauty, or of clueless Edo who didn't get a thing of what was going on around him, and the ever so arrogant Subaru who thought that it would be a great idea to always pick on our brilliant teacher for no good reason. Those were the good old days."

"Yeah, we got your point." Subaru sweated. "Now shall we all seat down?"

"Sure, be my guest. Oh wait, I am your guest!" Wally smiled and sat down while Subaru sweated even harder due to the fact that he was being trolled.

"By the way, have you seen Tiger?" Blane whispered to Subaru as they both took their seats.

"I have no clue. Maybe he decided to go out for a walk." Subaru whispered back.

Meanwhile The Monk managed once again to sneak inside the UFO. Seeing that the coast was clear, he made his way to the center of the spaceship and opened the door of the darkened room that was filled with video cameras and laser rays. Once again he took out a mirror and repeated his trick which made each laser destroy the other. With the coast being clear, he rushed at the safe and began to type the same code that he had tried the other time. But right then and there the door opened once again and Tiger entered with a blue gem shaped like an egg in his left hand and his deck in his right hand.

"It's not there, pal. It's in my hands." Tiger said and The Monk turned to him. "You're not getting away this time! I finally caught you!"

The Monk got up from the safe and approached the chosen nature duelist ready to confront him.

"I've been waiting this moment for a long time… Spunky!" Tiger eagerly spoke.

In the next moment the killer began to laugh and finally he pulled off both his cloak and his mask revealing a green haired head with a yellow eye and a blue one. Tiger was right; The Monk was none other than Spunky.

"Good job, detective, you found out who I am. But did you really think you caught me by surprise?" Spunky replied.

"Stop playing games, I'm not falling for it again." Tiger firmly said.

"I always have my eyes on you, Tiger. Someone close to you is helping me get in and out of the UFO and also informs me about everything that is going on here."

"Stop mumbling like that and speak clearly. Tell in front of the cameras that you are The Monk and that Edo's your stupid accomplice!"

Spunky's jaw dropped and his eyes widened upon hearing that. He then asked panicked:

"How did you know that?"

"As if Shubham didn't inform me the other night before pursuing you." Tiger spoke with a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"Remember this, kitty cat, The Monk always acts alone!" Spunky tried to regain control. "Also, you should know that for all that info that you've gotten now Shubham is burning in hell where he belongs!"

"Heh, if you think that surprised me then you're dead wrong, Spunky. Shubham told me last night that if by morning he wasn't back at the UFO then that was a sign he was dead. And don't you worry; I'll avenge him and all the others that you killed!"

"Oh yeah, trying to play hero again. Let's see how much that will help you."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll explain everything right here and right now or this hero will have to put you in a world of severe pain!"

"Hehehe, if you want to know more, come with me in your room. It's a place that lacks video cameras and nobody can disturb us there."

"Wait! We're not going anywhere. I've made too many concessions to you. If you want to talk, you'll do it here!"

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of me?" Spunky smiled diabolically and then he walked past Tiger and opened the door.

"No, I'm not afraid of you." the blonde replied and followed him out.

In a matter of minutes the two were inside the chosen nature duelist's room. Spunky was admiring the tiger poster above the bed while Tiger was sitting at a good distance from him near the door. The situation was more than stressful for him. Finally, after a month of horror, he had discovered who the criminal that was terrorizing them was and he was also face to face with him. Now he had to do whatever he could to catch him and expose him in front of the rest.

"Tell me, Spunky, how did you manage to fake your death?" Tiger asked.

"And I thought that incompetent doctor figured it out by now." Spunky ironically replied. "Quite easy, Tigra-sama created a clone of me. That night when Subaru and Wally were chatting on the island's shores I did not take a taxi as Hakuoh ordered me. Instead I dressed up and killed him because he had discovered me. Then to make sure that I would be able to have more free time for my Monk business, I asked Tigra-sama to clone me and then I killed it. The next day while you were mourning Hakuoh's death I intentionally made some noise so that you would find me with the clone's body. And my plan worked perfectly, you all believed that I was dead and you also excluded me from the circle of suspects instantly."

"You're insane…" Tiger mumbled with shock.

"Are you any better? Look at you! You're pathetic. You sit there far from me, you've got your deck there ready for a duel, and yet you're scared like no tomorrow." Spunky criticized.

"Why did you turn into The Monk? So that you could be another one of Tigra's suck-ups?" Tiger asked and approached him.

"Didn't you think you knew all about me?" Spunky smiled and walked to the chosen duelist facing him. "You're kind of weak in front of me, because you know nothing while I know plenty. Hahaha!"

As Spunky laughed with satisfaction, Tiger watched him while taking defense.

"I have to provoke him and make him lose control." the chosen duelist thought and then he spoke to the murderer. "You're crazy, Spunky. Absolutely crazy. Don't you make me, because if I want, I could kick your sorry ass until there's nothing left of you but dust!"

And so Tiger pushed Spunky back and he hit the back wall. However he did not care and he kept laughing.

"Hahaha, speaking of beatings, how's your deck doing? Did it recover from that massive milling that I gave it last time?" Spunky kept the irony. "Or did you decide to make it a full spell deck so that this time when I bring a Volg Thunder out you automatically lose? Hahaha!"

Once again Spunky approached him and this time he stretched his hands in the air and said:

"Yes, I am The Monk. And I am also Tigra-sama's greatest duelist."

"Face it, Spunky, today The Monk and Tigra are going down, so you better surrender while you still can!" Tiger advised only to have Spunky burst into laughter yet again.

"Hahahahahaha, did you really think I'm that big of an imbecile to surrender?" Spunky laughed.

"You're crazy, Spunky. You've lost your marbles."

"Maybe you're right. So what? What do you want, Tiger? Do you want me to cry and have everyone feel pity for me? That's what you want? I'll do this with all my heart. I can convince anyone, Tiger. Anyone… I'm innocent. You have no proof against The Monk. And let me tell you something, dear former classmate. We've come back to where we've started. Hahahahahaha!"

Tiger rubbed the sweat that fell on his forehead and tried to think up of a new strategy against him. He had a tough adversary and he knew that it would take him a lot to manage to crack his shell. Smiling, Spunky once again walked to Tiger, and it was clear on his face that he was enjoying every minute of their confrontation because he had the upper hand.

"You're screwed, Tiger! We're back from where we've started. You know that I am The Monk, but you can't do anything about it. And I can keep playing around. Hm, I wonder who to kill next." Spunky calmly said but all of a sudden he was surprised to see a sudden smile appear on Tiger's face who started laughing. "You're amused? What's wrong, Tiger?"

"You're the screwed one, not me." Tiger replied and then he pulled a recorder out of his pants' pocket. "I've recorded everything that you said ever since we got in here."

"No…"

"You just couldn't resist, could you? It was too tempting for you… I bet you couldn't wait to tell everyone that you were The Monk." Tiger returned the ironic voice to the rather shocked Spunky.

"No."

"Oh but yes, you wanted to tell everyone that."

"No."

"You wanted them to know that you are The Monk and that you're the smartest and strongest."

"No, it's not true! It's a lie. It's a trick." Spunky said more panicked than ever.

"Oh, is it?" Tiger smiled and then he pressed the play button of the recorder.

"_Yes, I am The Monk. And I am also Tigra-sama's greatest duelist."_

Spunky's jaw dropped upon hearing that. Tiger paused the recorder and continued saying:

"And don't forget that I also have the photo of you unmasked that was sent to me by Shubham before you killed him. You're finished, Spunky. Is there anything else you'd like to add to this confession?"

"Yes. You're not leaving here with that recorder, I assure you." Spunky said and approached the chosen duelist even more only to be pushed yet again against the wall.

"If I were you, I wouldn't push it. If I kill you here and now, it would be in defense." Tiger replied and his deck began to shine with a bright green aura. "Don't forget that I've got evidence. Only if I tell the police that The Monk attacked me that would be enough."

Spunky started walking in circles sweating more and more. He was cornered and he needed to find a way out of the Tiger's trap.

"It's over, Spunky. Now let's go to the kitchen where you'll confess to everyone that you are The Monk." Tiger said.

Spunky ignored him and moved in circles faster and faster until he decided that the time had come. Before Tiger knew it, Spunky jumped on him and pushed him on the bed. Then he quickly took out his two silver claws, put them on his left hand and forgetting to dip them in venom he began to stab Tiger's belly.

"Does it hurt? Take this!" Spunky shouted and stabbed.

Tiger screamed in pain while Spunky kept wounding him with the sharp claws. After a moment the killer calmed down and the hurt blonde began to grasp for air. Spunky got up and then he shouted even more:

"What did you think? That I would surrender myself because of a recorder and a photo?"

Tiger didn't answer and that annoyed him and determined him to insert the claws yet again in the wound from the chosen duelist's belly. Tiger yelled in pain and Spunky continued his speech while stabbing:

"What was in your mind, Tiger? Better yet, what are you going to do now that I caught you? You're no match for me. Understand that! You could never measure yourself to me. That's because I am not alone, I have the entire THEM organization backing me up."

"You're cornered, Spunky." Tiger mumbled.

"Hah! Listen to what I say. Tigra-sama will shelter me and protect me. I am not alone, Tiger!" Spunky shouted and then he resumed his stabbing. "I am the strongest duelist that can kill anyone! I am Spunky and I will kill anyone that doesn't deserve to live!"

When he finally calmed down, Spunky got up and let Tiger lie on the bed wounded. The killer put on his mask and cloak.

"You've got much more to learn, Tiger." The Monk remarked.

Then he went to the room's bathroom to wash the blood off his claws. Then he took out the small bottle with viper venom from his robe and headed back to the room. Much to his shock, Tiger was not lying on the bloody bed anymore. As The Monk set foot in the bedroom the chosen duelist took him by surprise and punched his right arm causing him to drop the bottle with viper venom which broke into a million pieces and spread the deadly liquid on the floor.

"You also have a lot to learn, Spunky. The golden rule: never turn your back to your enemy." Tiger said with a sly smile on his face.

"Why you…" The Monk growled.

Once again Tiger showed his deck and this time The Monk accepted the challenge and took out his own deck as well. Two dueling tables rose from the floor and the two duelists walked to them, set their cards, deployed their shields and thus began their duel. For the first time since they knew him, The Monk talked during the duel.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." The Monk said and gained another card in his mana zone.

"I cast Faerie Life." Tiger said and also gained a card in his mana zone.

"I summon another Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her to gain another mana card."

"Rushing to increase mana? Well excuse me, my friend, but I'm afraid I'll have to stall your plans a little bit. I cast Faerie Gift which makes the next creature I summon cost three mana less. Then I summon… Come On Pippi! By its effect I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A blue armored dragon with a fire horn as his nose and a fire sword being wielded by its tail appeared by Tiger's side and roared at The Monk.

"Heh, now all my mana cards are put tapped. But that doesn't really matter! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Come On Pippi. Then I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone! Let the milling begin!" The Monk said and pointed at Tiger's deck out of which the following cards fell into the graveyard: Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Hustle Castle, Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord, Faerie Gift, Living Lithograph and Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force. "Look at that, Tiger. It seems that a good bunch of your trumps has fallen into the graveyard, my, my. Oh well, good thing I have a Bloody Shadow to summon via Gravity Zero!"

"For all the good that'll do you, creep! My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Faerie Hole which brings me another card in the mana zone and Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone!"

A red armored dragon wielding two flame swords appeared next to the blue armored one.

"Keep getting useless psychic creatures out, Tiger. My method is much more direct!" The Monk said while showing a Darkness spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which puts Volg Thunder in the battle zone. Mill his deck!"

Once again the top cards of Tiger's deck began falling to his graveyard, those being Hyperspatial Samurai Hole, Faerie Life, Hyperspatial Faerie Hole, Living Lithograph, Jasmine, Mist Faerie, Faerie Gift, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and another Jasmine, Mist Faerie.

"Hahahahaha, half of your deck is milled, it won't be long now! With Raiden Hole's second effect I destroy Bloody Shadow and replace it with Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit!" The Monk continued. "I end. And since I have two Demon Commands with cost 6 or more, I awaken Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit!"

"I cast Natural Snare! Send Cheuxvelt back to the hyperspatial zone!" Tiger said and golden demon roared and got turned into mana by vines.

"Grr, due to Cheuxvelt's effect one of your shields is breaked!"

"Heh, perfect, shield trigger, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord! I end my turn."

"Tsh, I've had enough of your tricks, Tiger! I summon Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King. Then I cast Bloody Cross!"

The top two cards of both their decks went to their graveyards. The Monk got Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman and Hyperspatial Emperor Hole while Tiger got Faerie Gift and Forever Princess, An Eternity to Rule Them. All of a sudden, the Forever Princess card shined with a bright light that made The Monk cover his eyes. The cards from Tiger's graveyard rose in the air one by one and in the next moment they all shuffled themselves back into his deck.

"What's going on?" The Monk asked and then he got the shock of seeing Tiger's entire graveyard empty. "What?! But how?"

"Heh, it's because of my Forever Princess. When it's put into the graveyard from anywhere, I shuffle my whole graveyard back into my deck." Tiger answered with satisfaction.

"No, this can't be! My milling…"

"Was totally useless against me! And now, Spunky, it's time to finish this! I summon Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force and by its effect I put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone!"

The purple haired Alien princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared in the battle zone next to the two dragons.

"Pudding Pudding's effect won't allow one of your Volg Thunders to attack the next turn. And now… Victory Psychic Link!" Tiger exclaimed and the princess opened her umbrella and cast her light upon the two dragons uniting with them and turning into a giant winged dragon that shined with the colors of the rainbow, though gold was the predominant one and which also wielded a sword with its tail. "Arise, Gaial Ore Dragon, the Vainglory!"

"Impossible! This cannot be happening!" The Monk exclaimed.

"Gaial Ore Dragon, break all of his shields!"

The dragon flew towards the killer and swung its sword which slashed off all of his five shields. Much to his disappointment, he had no shield triggers or ninja strikes that could save him.

"Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord, todomeda!" Tiger ordered and the white tiger with black stripes jumped at The Monk and hit him with the fire sword that it was holding with its mouth.

A few minutes later the dinner in the kitchen was disturbed when Tiger stepped in holding the defeated Monk in his arms. Luna and Tsugumi screamed with fear while the boys got up from their chairs. The chosen nature duelist threw the defeated assassin who landed on the floor in front of the rest.

"This is The Monk. Now you will find out who he is." Tiger said and then he slowly approached the killer while the rest watched the whole scene with great attention. "The one that you have in front of you is the assassin of Shubham, of Boris, of Alwyn, of the Frenchman and of Hakuoh-sama."

Upon hearing her teacher's name, Luna started crying. Tiger ignored that and stopped in front of the black robed person.

"He is The Monk." Tiger pointed at him.

"Tiger, you're hurt." Luna said and she tried to help him only to be pushed back.

"We'll take care of that later." the blonde male said and then he leaned down and pulled the killer's cloak off revealing the black mask that was covering his head. "Today the nightmare ends."

In the next moment Tiger pulled off The Monk's mask and revealed everyone that the murderer was Spunky. The two girls screamed shocked upon seeing the sight. But the one that had the biggest shock was none other than Wally. His best friend whom he thought of as dead was not only alive but was also the one that had caused the massacre during the previous month.

"What's the meaning of this? What happened to you, Spunky?" Wally asked and rushed to the black robed male. "Why are you dressed up like this?"

"People, he is The Monk. I brought him. He's the best proof." Tiger said.

"No, not Spunky…" Luna cried.

"Are you sure?" Tsugumi asked.

"But why?" Subaru added.

When things calmed down Spunky woke up and was helped by Wally to get up and get face to face with everyone from the kitchen.

"Spunky is The Monk." Tiger repeated.

"No." Spunky denied.

"And I have proof. Shubham sent me a photo of him before he got killed and I also have Spunky confessing right here." Tiger continued and showed everyone the recorder.

"Why are you doing this to me, Tiger?" Spunky faked being innocent and rushed at the others. "Tamma, it's a lie. Tamma, you can't believe such a thing. I am not an assassin, Tamma!"

"Get away from me!" the child spoke to him with a cold voice.

"Wally, you believe me, no? Wally, I am not an assassin." Spunky approached his friend. "How could I kill Hakuoh-sama? He was our teacher. How could I do such a thing?"

"I don't know, pal, I am confused. I don't know what to believe or say." Wally mumbled.

"It's better if you admitted in front of everyone that you are The Monk." Tiger intervened. "And that you were capable of killing your own teacher."

"Wally, please believe me. Promise me you'll defend me." Spunky fell on his knees in front of his friend who immediately grabbed his face by both cheeks.

"Tell me the truth. Did you kill our teacher?!" Wally spoke with a harsher voice.

"No!" Spunky denied and quickly got up and turned to the rest. "Tsugumi! Tell them that I am not the killer!" Spunky demanded and he grabbed the chosen light duelist's arm only to have the girl push him back and giving him a cold look causing him to turn his head to her lover. "Subaru, my pal, please tell them that I am not The Monk. Tell them, please!" Spunky begged but the chosen darkness duelist simply stood silent and observed him.

In the end Spunky turned to Luna whose fear was slowly changing into anger as he approached her.

"Luna, you're the only one left. You believe me, don't you?" Spunky said and then he stopped in front of her. "I am not an assassin, Luna."

"ASSASSIN!" Luna yelled as hard as she could and then she slapped Spunky. "Assassin! Assassin!"

In the next moment tears fell down Spunky's eyes as the blue haired girl began to hit him with her fists. Fortunately Blane managed to pull her away from him and calm her down. Then Tiger played the entire recording to everyone and they heard what happened in his room. There were no more doubts. Spunky indeed was The Monk.

"Alright, the show's over. Call the police!" Tiger said and Blane nodded to him.

"Wait, wait! Until you do that, I want to talk to him!" Wally intervened.

"I'm sorry but no can do. That bastard deserves to be punished." Tiger replied.

"No, Tiger, I am not asking you a favor, I am demanding it! I need to know what pushed my best friend to become a monster!" Wally said with a fierce voice.

"Tsh, fine, take him to the living room and chat there." the blonde shrugged his shoulders.

The two left the kitchen followed by Blane who wanted to make sure that there would be no more trouble. Only the six chosen duelists remained and for a moment there was silence. However Subaru decided to break it and said:

"With all the great pain that I feel, I can't not be proud of you."

"Yeah, you managed to discover and get rid of the one that wanted to destroy us." Tsugumi added.

"That's right. You fought and you unmasked The Monk." Luna smiled to Tiger.

"That's our brave Tiger!" Tamma cheered.

"All that I did… was for you. You gave me enough courage to keep fighting." Tiger sighed and then he stood down and put his hand on his wound. "Could someone please help me with this?"

"Sure, let's take him to the hospital room!" Tsugumi suggested.

That night Wally spent his time in the living room listening to Spunky's full confession. After midnight passed the police came and his friend was arrested.


	65. End of The Monk

The next day as the arrested Spunky was being taken into prison Wally gathered most of the inhabitants of the UFO in the living room where he would tell them the reasons why his best friend had turned into a murderer. Tiger and Luna did not show up because the blue haired girl took the wounded blonde hero to the hospital room to heal him. As for the rest, Subaru and Tsugumi sat on the couch, Tamma on the floor with his feet crossed, Edo behind the couch on his feet and Blane against the wall with his arms crossed. They were all paying attention to Wally who was standing in front of the TV with a serious expression on his face, something rare for them.

"I would have preferred to gather you here to announce you that my friend Spunky had won the award for the year's greatest film director." Wally began his speech. "That's what he wanted to be. But his dueling champion parents forced him to pick Duel Masters as a hobby."

Expressions of amazement appeared on the faces of Subaru, Tsugumi and Tamma. Blane remained emotionless and Edo looked at everyone with confusion.

"He loved movies, he dreamt of becoming a great director." Wally continued. "But his parents saw him weak hearted and they manipulated him into choosing the path of dueling. They forcefully sent him at Hakuoh-sama's school to study dueling and follow the family tradition. That's why he grew up filled with hatred and frustrations. Then, the biggest problem occurred when Tigra appeared in his life. One day when he was returning from school all by himself she approached him and introduced herself."

_A year ago, on a hot summer afternoon, as the sun was preparing to set, Spunky was walking home all by himself on the lonely city streets. Most of the population was finding its refuge at the beach. As for him, he had yet another boring day of Hakuoh's dueling classes and he felt rather fed up. His mind was set on only one thing: getting home. Once there he would refresh himself with a nice cold drink and a horror movie. But as he reached the corner of the street, a white haired girl dressed in a golden spiky armor with a black X shaped mask covering her face appeared._

"_What the?!" Spunky burst out surprised._

"_Hello Spunky." the girl replied with a voice that made shivers go up his spine. _

"_What do you want?" _

"_I come to you as a friend. I need to discuss something important with you."_

"_Alright, I'm listening. What's so important?"_

"_First of all, let me properly introduce myself." the girl said and then she approached the boy so he could have a full view of her armor. "My name is Tigra, I am the biggest enemy of Kokujo Kyoshiro and the chosen duelists. I am also the head of the biggest secret organization in the world: THEM. I have come to you to bring you an offer."_

"_What sort of offer?" Spunky raised his eyebrow while asking._

"_I know that your parents are forcing you to become a great duelist. I also know that your real wish is to be a film director."_

"_How do you know all of this?!" _

"_That doesn't matter now. What matters is that they didn't give you the life you deserved. The life which I have come to offer you back."_

"_And why would I believe you?"_

"_Because I have got the power and I wish to have us both reach our goals. So what do you say?" Tigra asked and reached her hand in the air._

"_I say: get bent!" Spunky replied slapping the girl's hand and then he ran away._

"But Tigra did not give up. She visited Spunky daily and brainwashed him with his own anger. And, one day, my friend accepted her offer." Wally sighed.

_Spunky clenched his fist after Tigra finished her little speech whose intent was to stir his hidden negative emotions. He looked her in the eyes and in the end he said:_

"_Alright, I'll do it."_

"_Excellent." Tigra replied with a grin on her face. "What I need you to do is to steal the Proof of Duelmaster."_

"_But the chosen duelists have hidden it well." Spunky cried. _

"_How could it not be hidden well when it's their source of power? That's why you need to steal it. And for that you have to be strong."_

"_How can I be strong? Look at me! I'm one of the wimpiest guys from my school. I am not tough, Tigra."_

"_You're like this because your whole life you had been deceived by those around you. You're like this because they always lied to you. But you have to trust me. I will change all of this." _

_In the next moment Tigra showed Spunky a bag in which there was a black robe._

The summer sun spread its powerful hot rays early upon the city that morning and made the metallic buildings shine brightly, the city seeming like a technological version of heaven. Its inhabitants were all rushing to the beach to relax but little did they know that heading to the jail was a police rocket in which Spunky laid dressed in his Monk costume and with handcuffs binding him.

"I heard that this guy is really dangerous." a fat policeman said to the skinnier one that was piloting the ship.

"Yes sir, he is the well known Monk." the driver replied.

"Oh, that psycho? Well thank goodness we caught him then. After what crimes he committed, he's gonna be in jail for a long time coming." the fatter man concluded their short discussion and then he bit his chocolate donut.

Spunky gave them a small growl and a deathly stare. The fat policeman turned to him and was amused by the criminal's reaction. He laughed a bit and then he said:

"Keep that temper for your new roommates, you'll need it."

"You think you're so high and mighty sitting there in a sweaty uniform? Do you have the courage to go through hell and back like I had? You're nothing but a pathetic coward hiding behind a badge." Spunky said and spat on the floor.

"Hey watch it there, monk boy, or I'll be forced to take severe measures." the fat policeman tried to threaten him but received an arrogant laugh as a response.

"All that you can do is to lock me up in a prison cell. You weren't the one who caught me, hell you might not even know about me if it weren't for the news. And yet here you are thinking that you have some kind of power over me when in reality you're simply deluding yourself."

Spunky's words brought fear into the policeman who decided to not continue the discussion any further and resume eating his donut.

Back at the UFO, Wally had taken a break from narrating what Spunky had told him. That was when Tsugumi sought the opportunity to raise some discussions:

"Wally, I do remember that when I was visiting Hakuoh-sama, Boris the jewel man had called him to warn us that someone wanted to steal the Proof and that same someone ordered him to make a copy of it. He was really scared. Was it Tigra the one who ordered the copy?"

"Yes. And that's how Spunky became an assassin." Wally replied. "When Tigra found out that Boris had announced Hakuoh of her plan of stealing the Proof of Duelmaster, she ordered Spunky to kill Boris. She advised him to find his own method of operation, modus operandi as it is called in Latin, which would be both quick and effective. And he did so. Spunky used viper venom to kill Boris. And, in this way, my friend became an assassin."

"I want to ask you something, Wally." Subaru intervened. "Why did he kill Hakuoh-sama? Tiger told me his theory, but I want to know what Spunky said."

"He killed him so that he wouldn't reveal his identity to the others." Wally answered with sorrow in his voice. "When Hakuoh-sama was heading to the beach to warn us of the danger, he grabbed him and pulled him back in the temple. There he tried to convince our beloved teacher to join THEM, but he didn't succeed. Angered that he was refused and scared that he might be caught, Spunky decided to end Hakuoh-sama's life."

A small discrete tear slowly fell down Wally's cheek from his red eye. Tsugumi lowered her head down in respect of his suffering.

Meanwhile at the hospital Robert was sleeping on a bed with bandages covering most of the wounds which he had received from his duel with The Monk. Hanna was sitting by a window watching the city lost in her thoughts. Nolan entered the room and the noise made by the door woke the girl up.

"Oh Nolan, good to see you!" Hanna exclaimed. "Where have you been all this time?"

"I've been supervising the city. It turns out that Tigra's indeed here. THEM has booked her a room at the fanciest hotel in town where she's sitting safely up in her room from the last floor and can plan whatever evil scheme she wants." Nolan said and then he turned to the bed. "What about him? Did he recover yet?"

"I'm afraid not. The doctor said that it will take him at least a week to get back on his feet. The loss against The Monk left him with lots of wounds."

"What kind of deck did that freak use?"

"A Volg Thunder deck-out deck. Basically he spammed Volg Thunder and used it in order to mill the opponent's deck until there were no more cards left. Once a player reaches deck-out, an explosion occurs from which they remain heavily wounded."

"And I'm guessing that once his victims were in that vulnerable state after losing to him, he would take the advantage and kill them with cold blood."

"Yes, but not anymore! Nolan, Tiger has discovered The Monk's identity. He caught him last night and the police arrested him."

"Oh, that's great news, Hanna! So who was it then?"

"It was Spunky, a former classmate of theirs. It seems that Tigra's corrupting influence has reached even our circles."

"I see. Anyway, I say we help Robert recover fast so we can get the heck out of here."

"Why so?"

"The 7th of July is fast approaching and Tigra's getting ready for her move. We have to prepare ourselves for anything at any time!" Nolan said.

"I understand." Hanna nodded. "If the doctors won't let him leave the hospital until the 6th, we'll have to sneak him out."

The two winked at each other and laughed. Then they both turned to the window and admired the city.

At the prison, Spunky was thrown in a provisory cell that was rather small and had bars made of lasers. He had been stripped of his Monk outfit and was dressed in a black shirt and black jeans. As he stood there on a bench awaiting his sentence, certain thoughts began to bother him. Slowly, after a month of cold murders, the memories of his victims came to his mind. Finally the guilt of spilling innocent blood had started to haunt him. He envisioned himself pushing the poisoned cross jewel against Boris's forehead killing him, himself stabbing Alwyn's neck with the poisoned claws and then the poor victim crawling on the ground while the venom did its job, himself stabbing the Frenchman's neck with the claws in the church and then the expression of agony on his cadaver, and finally himself pushing Hakuoh through the stained glass window and watching how he fell down the cliff to his death. Not being able to endure it anymore, Spunky put both hands on his head and fell with his knees on the floor shouting:

"Leave! You're all dead!"

Back at the UFO, Wally was preparing to conclude his speech. It was a long morning for them all and the previous night seemed even longer.

"Now that I have explained to you most of what he told me, I await questions." Wally said and immediately Tamma raised his hand. "Yes, Tamma?"

"May I go to the bathroom?" the red haired child asked.

"Um, sure?" Wally sweated and watched how the boy rushed out of the living room. "Any other questions?"

"What exactly did Tigra promise Spunky for his services?" Subaru brought a serious question to the table. "It can't simply be 'revenge' because the chosen duelists didn't do anything to him. On the contrary, his parents were the ones that ruined his dreams."

"Tigra promised to give him enough money to make his own studio. She also promised to hire assistants and actors for him in order to make movies. But for all that he needed to bring her the Proof of Duelmaster." Wally explained.

"He didn't bring her the Proof of Duelmaster, but he did sneak the second Proof out, the one with Devil Diabolos Zeta sealed inside." Blane brought up.

"Regarding that, Spunky said that Tigra was pleased with what he had brought her and she kept it but she still wanted the real Proof. Why is Tigra so interested in the Proof I don't know and he didn't know either." Wally said.

"The Monk kept coming in and out of the UFO whenever he pleased. How did he manage to do so?" Tsugumi asked.

"At first he used a special gadget that disabled door locks to sneak in the back entrance. But then he gained an accomplice from inside and that accomplice helped him get here whenever he wanted." Wally said and then he turned to the brown haired chosen duelist dressed in a blue suit. "And that accomplice is none other than Edo Kanda!"

"WHAT?!" Blane, Tsugumi and Subaru shouted in unison.

"Edo-kun?!" Subaru turned to his best friend with a shocked expression on his face.

"What is it?" Edo raised his head to them and ceased giving attention to the dust bit which he was rubbing with his fingers.

"Wally said that you were The Monk's accomplice, is that true?" Tsugumi asked.

"Of course." Edo admitted and smiled happily. "We are great friends!"

"Great… friends?" Wally repeated.

"Sure. I met The Monk on the corridors and I was impressed by his awesome outfit and personality. I offered to take him out on an ice cream and he agreed. During the following days we kept hanging out at parks, cinemas, circuses, game arcades and so on. We sure had a lot of fun together! And then he also asked me a couple of times to help him get inside the UFO and I said sure. I didn't know what business he had here, but I'd do anything for a friend." Edo said with a happy voice as if he was unaware that the person he was talking of was a murderer. "Though to be honest, I'm kind of disappointed that The Monk was Spunky. I was hoping he would be Michael Jackson or Chuck Norris."

"I see, The Monk simply manipulated him in order to get what he wanted." Blane deduced.

"It seems that Spunky remembered Hakuoh-sama's old saying: 'Exploiting human stupidity is the most profitable business.' And he successfully applied it in this case." Wally added and sweated.

"Edo-kun, how could you call The Monk your best friend? He was a mass murderer! He killed Hakuoh-sama!" Subaru tried to reason with the brown haired male.

"Huh?" Edo turned his attention from the mosquito he was following with his eyes to Subaru. "Did you say something?"

"Why do I even bother?" Subaru slapped his own face and sighed. "I can't believe it. A bastard like The Monk stole my best friend…"

"Don't say that, Suby! We were only great friends. You know very well that you're my best pal no matter what!"

"But what about this whole month in which you hanged out with The Monk more than me and Tamma?"

"Oh, that was just for fun. But my thoughts were still at my best buddies from the UFO. And he could never replace you Suby, you and I are like two heads of the same coin – forever connected!"

"Edo-kun…" Subaru suddenly hugged his friend and sobbed while smiling. "It's good to have you back."

"Yeah, Suby, it sure is!" Edo hugged his friend back. "Though I will miss The Monk, he was one awesome guy!"

That last sentence left everyone else in the room sweat really hard.

Back at the prison, Spunky was crawling on the ground as the memories of his victims kept haunting him.

"You're also dead! You're all dead!" Spunky growled. "I had to kill you Alwyn because you stuck your tail where it didn't belong. And I hate that! I can't take it anymore! They're all dead. I killed them all."

All of a sudden an explosion occurred which shook the whole jail. The alarms were set on and policemen along with robots began rushing down the corridors. Taking advantage of that moment of chaos, Spunky took out a small device from his pants' pocket and used it to hack the cell's computer and shut down the laser bars. Then he cleverly sneaked out disappearing in the crowd.

Spunky made his way to the vaults where the objects of the murderers were locked and he managed to get his Monk outfit back before it would have been put in a safe. Of course for getting it back he had to beat to a pulp the guard that was holding it. Then he quickly put the black pants, black jacket, black robe, black shoes, black gloves and black mask on, he covered his head with the black hood and thus The Monk was ready for his escape. He looked around and saw an emergency elevator that was intended exclusively for natural disasters. The map next to the elevator's buttons indicated that it would lead him to either another level of the building or the rocket parking space from the last level. That was how he would escape. The Monk entered the elevator and went all the way to the last level where he would steal a rocket and fly out of jail. Once again he would be free to install his bloody reign of terror upon the chosen duelists. And he would finally get the Proof of Duelmaster from them as he had promised his master.

But great was his surprise once he reached the garage of the rockets. He saw that there was only one person in the whole area and that was none other than Tigra. The Monk rushed to the girl and immediately bowed down loyally.

"Tigra-sama, I knew you would come and save me! Thank you so much!" he spoke with gratitude. "I promise that this time I will not fail you and that the chosen duelists will fall once and for all!"

"Spunky, Spunky, Spunky, I did not come to save you." Tigra replied with a cold voice. "You have failed at bringing me the Proof of Duelmaster at the deadline that I established and you have also made the mistake of letting the chosen duelists discover your identity. In other words you are useless to me now. And you know what THEM does with useless people."

"No, you can't, Tigra-sama!" The Monk exclaimed and got on his feet. "Not after all we've been through!"

"My plans have changed, my darling. It seems that I have to get the Proof of Duelmaster on my own!" Tigra said and then she took out her glowing deck.

The Monk took out his deck as well and two dueling tables rose from the ground. This time he wasn't dueling to kill his opponent but he was dueling to save his own life.

"The explosions that you heard were caused by THEM." Tigra said while charging mana. "It was the only way I could lure you out of your cell to this place where I could personally take care of you."

"But Tigra-sama, I am still useful!" The Monk insisted.

"Forget it, Spunky! I've made you and I can easily unmake you."

"We'll see about that, I cast Bloody Cross!"

The top cards of both their decks landed into their graveyards, Tigra getting Emperor Cebu Marco X and Berlin, Grave Bell Keeper and Spunky getting Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and Jasmine, Mist Faerie.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Tigra said and made The Monk discard Iron Arm Tribe.

"I summon Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King! With its effect I return Bloody Cross to my hand." The Monk said and then he ended his turn.

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

"I cast Bloody Cross again!"

This time the top two cards that went to Tigra's graveyard were Ghost Touch and Falconer, Lightfang Ninja while The Monk got Hanzou, Menacing Phantom and Sol Habaki, the Apocalyptic Sage. Then due to Giovanni the 10th Bloody Cross returned to The Monk's hand yet again.

"Heh, I cast Hide and Seek!" Tigra said and by the spell's effect Giovanni the 10th returned to The Monk's hand and then he discarded Hustle Castle.

"That didn't do anything to my strategy. I summon Giovanni the 10th and cast Bloody Cross!" The Monk said and then he got Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman in his graveyard while Tigra got Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Cebu Aquman Jr. "I return Bloody Cross to my hand yet again!"

"You want to mill, my sweetie? Let your teacher show you how to properly mill! I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Giovanni the 10th! Then I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

The Monk was shocked of seeing his own trump card appear by Tigra's side and have its effect aimed at his own deck. One by one the cards from his deck fell to the graveyard, those being Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Leaf Storm Trap, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, Bloody Cross and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight.

"She milled me…" The Monk murmured.

"What's the matter? Can't handle seeing your own strategy used against you?" Tigra stuck her tongue out.

"I'm not done yet! I cast Bloody Cross!"

The top two cards of their decks once again fell to their graveyard. The Monk lost Iron Arm Tribe and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll while Tigra lost Hyperspatial Vice Hole and Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons.

"I see you persist with this weak form of milling. Very well, let's recover some cards, shall we? I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole!" Tigra said and by its effect she returned Zabi Implosion to her hand and put another Volg Thunder in her battle zone. "Mill him!"

This time the cards that fell from The Monk's deck to his graveyard were Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hustle Castle, Faerie Life, Sol Habaki, the Apocalyptic Sage, Leaf Storm Trap and Zabi Mira, the Reviving Shaman. The Monk growled angrier than ever before. His own strategy was turned against him and he had lost many important cards due to Tigra's milling. The golden armored girl laughed with satisfaction at the sight of her former minion's despair but he did not give up yet.

"I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole!" The Monk said and he was finally able to bring a Volg Thunder out. "Go, Volg Thunder, mill her deck right back at her!"

The cards from Tigra's deck that fell to her graveyard were Hide and Seek, Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow and Aqua Surfer. Sadly for him, he could not mill her enough. The Monk stood silent waiting for Tigra's next move.

"Nice spell you used. Let's see what happens when I also use it as well!" Tigra replied and showed her own Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which brought a third Volg Thunder to her battle zone.

The poor Monk watched how one by one the cards from his deck were milled yet again, those being Hustle Castle, Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, Faerie Life and Giovanni the 10th, Thunder Mecha King. That was it; he had just one card left in his deck. Once he would draw it, he would get a deck-out and everything would be over.

"Hihihi, you, my dear Monk, have just suffered a Volgasm!" Tigra proudly spoke.

"I'll never let you have the satisfaction of getting me alive…" The Monk replied.

In the next moment Spunky took off the hood and mask that were covering his face. Then he took out both his silver claws and put them on his left hand's index finger and middle finger. Afterwards he took out the last bottle with viper venom that he had, dipped both claws in them and with a final gesture he stabbed himself in the neck. The venom got into his blood and immediately worked its effect upon his body, killing him. Spunky fell dead on his dueling table, his cards scattering on the floor.

Tigra had watched the whole event with great satisfaction and knowing that her job was done she simply packed her cards and walked away. Thus another bloody chapter in the story of the chosen duelists and the city had closed, but another one would soon start.


	66. Return, part 1

"The story that you are about to hear is the story of me and my friends. I know that I myself am not normal, but sometimes I really do wonder how can a bunch of teenagers like us get into so much trouble? This must be another one of life's mysteries. Anyway, I'm Edo Kanda, and this is my tale."

_After The Monk's death everything came back to normal for the chosen duelists. They received the news of Spunky's decease with grief and at Tsugumi's idea they decided to accompany Wally at their former friend's funeral. Afterwards they parted ways, the chosen duelists resuming their life at the UFO and Wally resuming his activity as the Duel Masters summer school's principal._

_The seventh of July came. To the chosen duelists that date was important for it was the birthday of their fellow teammate Luna. As expected, they decided to throw her a surprise party and woke her up once the sun rose. After the happy birthday wishes they invited her outside on the beach to throw a party. _

_Around 9 o'clock the sun and its heat were dominating the sky and land. Since it was a working day, the beach was belonging to the six heroes and their UFO that was parked on the shores. Wearing his dark green hat to protect his head from the heat and his yellow swim trunks with black spots, Tiger was putting cold meat on the grill to prepare breakfast. Tamma was also in his lucky swim trunks that were half red and half black and he was busy building a huge sand castle that he planned would be the size of the UFO. Tsugumi was sitting on a sheet in her white bikinis looking at Subaru and Edo splash each other in the sea's waters. The male chosen water duelist was wearing a pair of blue swim trunks with waves and Subaru was wearing a pair of dark blue speedos. As for Luna, the girl was still in the UFO all excited for her birthday party and wondering which swimsuit should she wear. _

"_Tsh, sure is hot here." Tiger wiped the sweat off his forehead. _

"_Maybe you should take that stupid hat off." Tamma suggested while shaping a sand tower._

"_Yeah right, as if I'm that stupid to risk a heatstroke."_

"_Suit yourself."_

"_Gosh I wonder when Blane's gonna be back with those weenies. I really wanna finish supper until Luna comes out."_

"_He's been gone for half an hour. Maybe it's a huge line."_

"_Knowing him, a huge line wouldn't be a problem…"_

_And so the two resumed their activities unaware that a girl dressed in a spiky golden armor had appeared at the stairs that lead to the beach. _

"_Perfect, they're not suspecting a thing. It's time for us to make our move." she whispered._

_After a few more minutes passed the wind blew so hard that it made the flag that was triumphantly lying on Tamma's sand tower fly in the air. The little boy jumped off his sand construction and ran after it, thus departing from the group. _

"_Come back here, you little…" Tamma yelled while running desperately._

_Seeing that the wind was calming down and he was approaching it, Tamma jumped in the air and grabbed the flag with both hands. The red haired child landed with his feet on the sand and he gave a triumphant shout for his achievement. _

"_Alright, now time to get back to work!" Tamma said and turned around to leave._

_But then he noticed that he had departed significantly from the rest. Also, he heard footsteps on the sand and saw someone approaching him from the right. It was a figure dressed in a red robe with the symbol of the Fire civilization on it._

"_Who are you?" Tamma asked surprised._

"_Oh yeah, it's time for me to introduce myself." a weird female voice with an obvious Texan accent came out from the robe's hood._

_The figure grabbed the robe with their right hand and threw it off, revealing a beautiful red haired girl with a pony tail, green eyes, blue jeans, white shirt, dark brown vest and a cowboy hat._

"_Well howdy, you must be that squirt Tamma, the chosen fire duelist." she presumed._

"_Why I sure am! And who might you be?" Tamma asked._

"_The name's Rita and this cowgirl's come here all the way from the Wild West to teach you some manners."_

"_Sorry but I don't pick duels with strangers."_

"_Oh, but Ah ain't no goddamn stranger, Ah'm one of Tigra's duelists!"_

"_Tigra? I heard Subaru say this name. Just who is she?"_

"_Oh, Tigra's the big boss of THEM and she ordered me to come here and capture you. So Ah hope you don't take offense to that, little fella."_

"_Haha, capture me, yeah right." Tamma laughed dismissively and then he took out his deck from his trunks' pockets. "From what I understand, you do seem dangerous, so I guess I could try to stop you."_

"_Now that's more like it, partner!" Rita replied with eagerness coming out of her voice as she pulled out her deck from her jeans. "Let's have us a duel!"_

_Both of their decks shined brightly and then two dueling tables rose from the sand. The two players walked to them, put their decks on, set their shields, drew five cards and shouted 'Duel start!' thus beginning their match. Both spent their first turns charging mana and ending. But when their second turns came the game really began._

"_Ah cast Mendelssohn! With this spell's effect I reveal the top two cards of my deck and if they're Dragons they go to my mana zone." Rita said and then she revealed the top two cards of her deck which were Bolshack NEX and Bolbalzak Ex. "Perfect, Ah got me some more mana."_

"_You were lucky. Anyway, I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and then a horned humanoid appeared dressed up in a black armor and wielding a burning mace._

"_Ah summon Eco Aini! With its effect Ah put the top card of my deck to my mana zone of if it's a Dragon Ah may put the next top card of my deck to my mana zone." Rita explained and then she joyously watched how a Messa Danjiri Dragon landed in her mana zone and was followed by a Faerie Life. "Alright, little guy, my turn ends here."_

"_I summon Straight, Fighting Ogre!" Tamma said and a young samurai wielding a katana and wearing green sunglasses appeared by his side. "Vorg, Brawler of Hell, break her shield!"_

_The black armored humanoid rushed at Rita and swung its mace using it to break one of her shields to pieces. Then her turn came once again and she charged mana, tapped four cards and showed a Darkness card while saying:_

"_Ah summon Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo! By its effect Ah destroy Abayo Shabayo and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures as well!"_

"_I destroy Vorg." Tamma said and both mentioned creatures blew up._

"_Ah end."_

"_You're right, you end… for good!"_

_Tamma's hand glowed with a mixed red and purple aura as he drew his next card and placed it upon his Straight, Fighting Ogre card._

"_Evolution! Straight, become Ogre Beater, Infinite Fist!"_

_The small samurai got surrounded by a red aura and morphed into a gigantic humanoid dressed up in a dark red aura with two cannons for arms. _

"_Go, Ogre Beater, double break her shields!" Tamma ordered and the creature aimed both cannons and blasted off two of Rita's shields. "How about that, cowgirl?"_

"_Impressive indeed for a lad like ya. However Ah think it's time Ah took out the big guns!" Rita said and then all the cards from her mana zone tapped and she showed a 14 cost Fire card. "Ah summon Codeking Ludwig!"_

"_Wait a minute, you can't summon that, you don't have enough mana!" Tamma pointed out._

"_Oh yes Ah do, little fella. You see, when I summon Codeking Ludwig, the Dragon cards in my mana zone that I tap for summoning him count as two mana."_

_The cards in Rita's mana zone were Codeking Cantabile, Chopin, Dragon King, Bolshack NEX, Bolbalzak Ex, Codeking Mozart, Messa Danjiri Dragon, Faerie Life and Cocco Lupia. Besides the last two, all the others were Dragons. Six Dragons meant twelve mana and with the other two added it made a total of fourteen, allowing her to summon her creature._

"_As Ah was saying, Ah summon Codeking Ludwig!" Rita announced and then a giant red armored black winged dragon with golden horns and white metallic gloves on its paws appeared behind her and roared at Tamma who made a few steps back scared. "Ain't it the cutest horse you've ever had a ride on, kid?"_

"_It's… it's… huge…" Tamma mumbled._

"_Ya got that right, partner. And Codeking Ludwig is also a speed attacker. The best part is that when he attacks Ah may destroy one of yer critters with power 7000 or less. So go, Ludwig, triple break his shields!" Rita ordered and the Dragon first jumped at the giant humanoid and tore his armor piece by piece destroying him, then Ludwig turned his head towards Tamma and spat streams of fire that broke three of the child's shields. "Heehaw! Now that's what Ah call a ride!"_

"_Sh-shield trigger, I summon Moel, Lovely Ogre Sniper and destroy Eco Aini!"_

"_Alright, little fella, Ah end my turn here."_

_Tamma was shocked by the power that Rita had. Her Codeking Ludwig had managed to turn the tables in her favor immediately. And he knew that it was the beginning of the nightmare. All that he could do was to try and speed up his victory as much as possible before she could take out another one of her Dragons._

"_I summon Genji Boy! Go, Genji Boy and Moel, break her final shields!" Tamma ordered and both humanoids used their respective weapons to slash and shoot down the cowgirl's last two shields._

"_Ain't it just cute how the brat thinks he can finish me off by rushing me?" Rita spoke to herself and then she turned to Tamma. "Alright squirt, playtime's over for ya, it's time to send ya back to the stables!"_

_All eight cards from Rita's mana zone got tapped once again and she showed a Fire and Darkness card while saying:_

"_Ah summon Codeking Fortissimo! By this guy's effect all my Dragons are now speed attackers and slayers! Go, Codeking Fortissimo, blast em shields in the air!"_

_The red armored dragon with black horns waved its white gloved hands and shot purple lightning from them that went through Tamma's last two shields and tore them to pieces._

"_It's over, partner! Codeking Ludwig, todomeda!" Rita ordered._

_What followed after the order was a short explosion that was not noticed by the other chosen duelists due to the large distance._

_Meanwhile Tiger had finished making the stakes and he put them on a plate. He then took his head away from the oven and looked around. Subaru and Edo were swimming far away in the sea, Tsugumi was lying on the sheet always changing positions trying to find the best one for a tan, and Tamma and Luna were nowhere to be found._

"_Where could that darn Blane be? I can't wait any longer!" Tiger said and after taking a quick glance at the hot sun he sighed. "I guess I'll have to find him myself."_

_The blonde teenage boy walked away from the grill, climbed the stairs and went into the city barefoot and only with his swim trunks and hat on. He obviously did not care for the fact that people that passed by him were giving him weird looks. All that he wanted was to find the meat shop where he sent Blane and get the rest of the food he needed to cook. _

_After passing two streets he turned to the right and headed straight to a building that was a complex of shops. That was most certainly where Blane was located and if Tiger found him without any meat then boy would the guardian angel be in serious trouble. But just as he was approaching it, two hands came out of the dark grabbing his right arm and pulled him into a dark alley. The chosen duelist immediately freed himself from the grip only to see a person dressed in a green robe with the symbol of the Nature civilization on._

"_Who the hell are you and what do you want, you freak?!" Tiger spoke straightforward._

"_Wasp is not a freak! Wasp is Tigra-sama's most powerful duelist!" a geeky voice that was similar to that of an insect came out of the hood as the person standing in front of him pulled it off._

_Tiger was face to face with a small and thin blonde teen with blue eyes, a yellow shirt and yellow pants with black stripes and black shoes on his feet. _

"_I repeat: who the hell are you?" Tiger asked._

"_Wasp. And Tigra-sama has sent Wasp to defeat Tiger, the chosen nature duelist!" the thin blonde exclaimed and then he pulled out his deck. _

"_Tigra? Subaru told me all about her. What does she want from us?"_

"_Spiky boss Tigra wants chosen duelists defeated. Wasp obeys her order and will finish cat boy off!"_

"_Not if I have anything to say about it, insect boy!"_

_Tiger searched his trunks' pockets and pulled out his deck which shined brightly. Two dueling tables arose from the ground and both blonde duelists put their decks on them, set their shields, drew five cards and thus they began their match._

"_Wasp starts by summoning Sniper Mosquito!" _

_A giant green mosquito with yellow transparent wings appeared behind Wasp and buzzed._

"_Giant Insects? Never seen anyone make a deck based on those before." Tiger commented._

"_Well tiger boy should be proud to see the beauty of Wasp's deck!" _

"_Yeah, whatever, I charge mana and end."_

"_Oh, oh, Wasp has plans! Wasp casts Faerie Gift and then Wasp summons Crowd Mayfly!"_

_A giant orange fly with a pair of yellow wings and one of white wings, a long tail, two pairs of feet and two mantis claws appeared by Wasp's side next to the mosquito._

"_Since all of Wasp's mana cards are Nature cards, Crowd Mayfly has 6000 power, double breaker and can't be blocked by creatures with 5000 power. Suck on that!" _

"_Tsh that creep brought such a creature by the second turn!" Tiger thought and looked at the cards in his hand. "Darn, why did I have such a bad draw?"_

"_What's the matter? Tiger boy is put in a delicate situation by Wasp?"_

_Tiger ignored the geek's superiority speech and simply charged mana and ended his turn._

"_Wasp thinks that it's time Wasp ended this! Mana Evolution, Wasp summons Huckle Kirin Sawyer, Jungle Governor! Wasp attacks with Crowd Mayfly, double break his shields!"_

_The orange fly flew towards Tiger and using its mantis like claws it slashed down two of his shields into tiny pieces._

"_Huckle Kirin Sawyer, Sniper Mosquito, break his shields!" Wasp ordered and the other two creatures jumped at Tiger and took down two more of his shields. _

_Sadly for Tiger, he did not receive any shield triggers. Wasp may have seemed pathetic in his appearance and way he talked, but his Nature rush deck proved to be very strong. It seemed that for the first time in his life Tiger's hyperspatial beatdown was slower than the opponent. It was a feeling that the chosen nature duelist did not like at all. _

"_So is kitty cat going to surrender to the almighty Wasp?"_

"_Will the almighty Wasp just shut up already?" Tiger replied on a harsh tone and then he began his turn. "I cast Faerie Gift and then summon Geo Crashing Miranda, the Dimensional Force! By its effect I put Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone!"_

_A pink bipedal elephant like creature that lacked eyes and was wielding a giant steel hammer appeared by Tiger's side and was quickly followed by a dragon with a blue armor, a fire horn for its nose and that was wielding a fire sword with its tail. _

"_Oh, oh, Wasp is so scared of the big creatures that Tiger brought out! Oh, only problem is that… Wasp's rush does not care!"_

"_Tsh, he's right, it doesn't matter what's in my last shield right now, he has three attackers." Tiger thought._

"_Wasp is going to enjoy this! Wasp attacks with Huckle Kirin Sawyer and breaks Tiger's final shield!"_

_Much to the chosen duelist's amazement, the card in his last shield was indeed a shield trigger. But he stared at it with a sad look on his face and he calmly whispered:_

"_Now you came?"_

"_Well, did cat boy get something or not?" Wasp asked._

"_Shield trigger, I summon Blazing Tiger, Crimson Lord!" Tiger said and then a white tiger with black stripes appeared in the battle zone and slashed Sniper Mosquito with the fire sword that it was holding in its mouth. "I'm afraid that's all."_

"_Wasp likes the situation! Wasp finishes you off with Crowd Mayfly! Todomeda!"_

_The giant orange fly jumped at Tiger and hit him with both mantis claws causing him to land in a trash bin defeated. Then Wasp danced victoriously and cheered._

_Back at the beach, Tigra sat behind the stairs with her arms crossed and watched how the remaining chosen duelists were enjoying their time together. Then she received two video calls and when she pulled out her phone the holograms of Rita and Wasp appeared in front of her._

"_Mission accomplished, boss! The little brat's been captured!" Rita said._

"_Wasp has caught the kitty cat, Tigra-sama! Wasp has succeeded!" Wasp added._

"_Excellent! Call my driver and tell him to pick you and your preys from where you two are. We will meet back at the base." Tigra said and after her two minions saluted her she closed the call and turned her head back at the beach. "Soon you will all fall under the might of my anti-chosen duelists, and then nothing will stand in my way!"_

_While Subaru and Edo were venturing in the calm waters, Tsugumi had set her eyes on a small hill that was lying a few miles away from the place she was at. Calculating its height, she realized that it was the perfect place for her to receive the kind of tan she wanted. Not thinking twice, the blonde girl packed her sheet, put it in her beach bag and headed to that hill. As for Luna, the blue haired girl was still probing each and every swimsuit she would find in her wardrobe, trying to find one that would fit her birthday party. _

_But little did the two girls know that while they were busy with their every day problems, danger was waiting just around the corner. Tsugumi was discretely followed by a figure dressed in a yellow robe that had the symbol of the Light civilization while another figure dressed in a blue robe with the symbol of the Water civilization had entered the UFO. Tigra rubbed her arms in satisfaction and then she looked at her watch. It was 9:45 AM. _

"_Perfect, we'll be done until lunch and that will be the moment when we will initiate the attack. Everything is going according to my plan." the girl said grinning._


	67. Return, part 2

_The sun's rays were getting stronger and stronger on the beach as a sign of noon's approach. That was more than convenient for the chosen light duelist. Tsugumi was now at the top of the hill, far away from the UFO, and she was setting her sheets down. After that she took out a sunscreen bottle out of her bag and oiled her belly, her arms and her legs with it. Now that she was ready, she lay on the sheets with her arms and legs wide open, letting the sun tan her beautiful pale body._

"_Ah, this is the life." the blonde girl whispered and closed her eyes. "I hope I won't fall asleep. But eh, if I do, they will phone call me to come down to Luna's party, so that's not really a big deal."_

_But little was she aware that someone had followed her and was now climbing the stone hill on which she was. For a few minutes she had the peace and quiet that she desired, but then she heard some slow and steady footsteps climb the hill. It couldn't have been Subaru or another chosen duelist because there would be no need for them to make slow footsteps so that she wouldn't hear them. In other words, someone was trying to spy on her or catch her off guard. But that would not happen for Tsugumi immediately got up from the sheets and took out her deck from her bag ready for anything. In a matter of minutes a person dressed in a yellow robe that had the symbol of the Light civilization on appeared in front of her._

"_Greetings, you must be the chosen light duelist. It is a pleasure to meet you!" the stranger spoke to her with a polite voice._

"_And just who might you be?" Tsugumi demanded._

"_Oh right, it would be rude of me to not introduce myself to such a delicate and wonderful lady. Allow me to do it properly."_

_The stranger took off his robe and Tsugumi saw a man with long black hair that was reaching his neck's level, deep black eyes and who was dressed in a butler outfit with black shoes, black pants, white shirt, black tie, grey vest, black jacket and white gloves._

"_My name is Walter." the young butler made a bow in front of Tsugumi. "And I am Tigra-sama's most loyal servant and her anti-chosen light duelist."_

"_Anti-chosen light duelist?" the blonde girl repeated. "Did the freak just make her own gang of chosen duelists or what?"_

"_You are very clever, miss. I confess that I am impressed. It is such a rare instance to find someone nowadays that is both angelically beautiful and has a sharp mind."_

"_While I do appreciate an elegant man, I don't have time for this sort of games. What do you and your master Tigra want from us?"_

"_Why must you be so straightforward, miss? If this is how you like it… Tigra-sama has sent me to duel you and take you back to our headquarters."_

"_As if I'll go down without a fight!" _

"_Of course you won't, I am most certain of this, gracious miss."_

_Walter searched his pockets and took out a deck that shined with a bright yellow aura. Tsugumi's deck shined as well and then two dueling tables rose from the hill's stone. Both duelists walked to them and then much to Tsuugmi's amazement she saw Walter take out a handkerchief and wipe the dust off his._

"_What are you doing there?" the girl asked sweating._

"_Why I am cleaning my dueling table. I wouldn't want my cards to get dust or other particles on. Would you like me to clean yours too?" Walter asked and then he walked to the stunned Tsugumi's table and wiped the dust off it as well. "There, that is much better."_

"_Such a weird guy…"_

"_Anyway, shall we begin, miss Tsugumi?"_

_The girl nodded to him and then they both put their decks on the table, set the top five cards as shields, drew the other top five cards, shouted 'Duel start!' and began their match._

"_I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her!" Tsugumi said and a white haired red eyed doll dressed in dark red dress and wielding a razor appeared in the battle zone and blew up making Walter discard Aquan Jr's Delivery from his hand._

"_An early start, I like that, though I rarely see that from hyperspatial control decks. Anyway, I guess it's time for me to do my early start too – I cast Christie Gate!" Walter said and then all of his shields disappeared and reappeared as five cards that floated before his eyes._

"_What are you doing there?"_

"_By Christie Gate's effect I may look into my shields and select a Light Demon Command from them to put into the battle zone."_

"_What? A Light Demon Command?! I didn't even know these things existed."_

"_Well now you know, dear madam, and let me show you one of them! I put Codefight Agatha Hercule in the battle zone!"_

_A demon riding a white unicorn and dressed in a golden armor with a red cape and two horns on its helmet and wielding a white spear with a red crystal on it appeared in the battle zone and then Walter's other four shields rematerialized. _

"_So this is a Light Demon Command. Amazing…" Tsugumi murmured._

"_I am glad that you like it, madam." Walter replied. "And by Christie Gate's second effect I draw a card. Now I end."_

"_Very well, I summon Prince Avaraldo, Cavalier of Thunder!"_

_The top three cards of Tsugumi's deck revealed themselves as Miraculous Snare, Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier. The two spells went to her hand and the creature to the bottom of her deck._

"_Now it's time for you to see the beauty of my Demon Command!" Walter announced. When you put a creature in the battle zone, Codefight Agatha Hercule allows me to look into my shields, select a non-evolution Demon Command and put it in the battle zone!"_

_Once again Walter's shields disappeared and reappeared as four cards floating in front of him. He pointed at one of them which landed in the battle zone and the other three rematerialized as shields._

"_I put Codefight Misdirection in the battle zone!" Walter said and a white winged demon dressed in a golden armor and wielding two rainbow swords appeared by his side. _

"_He brought another giant creature out just because I summoned a creature. That's so not good!" Tsugumi thought and then she spoke. "I end my turn."_

"_Then I shall gladly begin my turn. I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole! By its effect I put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone and I also add another card to my shields! Then I end my turn and since I have two Demon Commands with a cost equal or greater than six, I awaken Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit!"_

_Tsugumi stared at Walter's psychic creature with worry. Now almost every move of hers would be punished. If she would summon a creature then Agatha Hercule would allow Walter to put a Demon Command from his shields into the battle zone and Cheuxvelt would give him a new shield. If she would cast a spell then Cheuxvelt would break one of her shields. From the two options it seemed that casting a spell was the least harmful, so that was what she did._

"_I cast Miraculous Snare and send Cheuxvelt back to the hyperspatial zone!" Tsugumi said and as she expected one of her shields got broken._

_But then, much to her shock, Walter's four shields disappeared yet again and reappeared in front of him._

"_Huh? But why?" Tsugumi asked confused._

"_When you cast a spell Codefight Agatha Hercule allows me to look in my shields and cast a spell as well." Walter explained with an innocent smile on his face. "So I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"_

_The top three cards of Walter's deck were Hyperspatial White Blue Hole, DNA Spark and Codefight Agatha Hercule. All were Light and all went to his hand. Then the remaining three shields materialized once again above him._

"_I end." Tsugumi sighed. _

"_My turn, I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand. I end as well." Walter said._

"_I don't get it, why isn't he attacking me? Is he just planning to toy with me like no tomorrow? In that case, toying time is over!" Tsugumi thought and then she spoke. "I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole which taps Aqua Super Emeral!"_

"_Yes, but don't forget about my Codefight Agatha Hercule." Walter replied and then he took his three shields into his hand. "I cast DNA Spark which taps your Prince Avaraldo and gives me a new shield!"_

_Once again three shields reappeared by Walter's side._

"_Grr, then I put Victorious Pudding Pudding in the battle zone!" Tsugumi continued and the purple haired Alien princess dressed in a dark green dress appeared in the battle zone. "By its effect your Codefight Agatha Hercule can't attack!"_

"_No it can't, but it still can offer me a creature from my shields!" Walter replied and once again he took his three shields to his hand. "I put Gimoro, Silent Killer in the battle zone!"_

_Tsugumi was amazed that Walter had managed to build such a strong battle zone by simply spamming creatures from his shields. And it was all her fault for daring to summon creatures and cast spells. But what else could she do? She couldn't just have waited, that would have given Walter enough time to get his creatures out on his own. And yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she contributed to her own demise._

"_My turn, I charge mana and attack Prince Avaraldo with Gimoro, the Silent Killer. Destroy him! Also, since Gimoro attacked, you can't cast spells on your next turn." Walter announced her._

"_I've had enough of you! I summon Chief De Baula, Machine King of Mystic Light and return Hyperspatial Shiny Hole to my hand! Then I summon Berlin, Grave Bell Keeper!" Tsugumi shouted._

"_Sadly, there are no more creatures in my shields for me to put in the battle zone."_

"_Go, Victorious Pudding Pudding, break his shield!"_

_By the smile that appeared on Walter's face, Tsugumi realized she made a mistake. The broken shield's shards slowly united into a card that shined with a bright light and Walter showed it to her while saying:_

"_Shield trigger activate, I cast Prison Spark! By its effect I tap all of your creatures!"_

"_Oh no…" Tsugumi murmured as she watched her blockers tap._

"_And now, dear lady, it is time to introduce you to my deck's avatar! I evolve Gimoro into Codedemon Ballom Mystery!"_

_A purple winged two headed goat demon that had the upper half of its body white and with three pairs of hands and a white goat head with red eyes, and the lower side of its body golden with one pair of hands made of red and green crystals and a blue goat head with red eyes appeared in the battle zone and instead of roaring like all the other members of the Ballom family, it gave Tsugumi a mysterious shriek that sounded like radio wave transmissions._

"_Is that…" Tsugumi could barely speak._

"_A Light Ballom? Why yes it most certainly is, milady! And now be amazed of its beauty!" Walter said and tapped the card. "Codedemon Ballom Mystery, destroy Victorious Pudding Pudding! Then by its effect I may draw a card and put a non-evolution Demon Command from my hand into the battle zone. In other words, I put Codefight Alibi Trick in the battle zone! Then I attack Berlin with Codefight Agatha Hercule and put Palkupan, Phantom Thief into the battle zone! Finally, I attack Chief de Baula with Codefight Misdirection and put Dying Message, Friction of Heaven Freezing in the battle zone! I end."_

_Never in her life had Tsugumi seen such a display of creature spam. It seemed useless to even continue, Walter had way too many creatures in the battle zone. The girl simply laid her head down and passed her turn to him._

"_Very well, if that's what the lady wishes…" Walter said and then he began to tap his cards. "I attack with Codefight Agatha Hercule, triple break her shields! And Codefight Misdirection gives me a new shield."_

_The golden demon swung its spear and used it to slash three of Tsugumi's shields._

"_Then I attack with Codefight Alibi Trick, break her final shields! And Codefight Misdirection gives me yet another new shield." Walter continued and then the golden armored demon used its shining white spear to take down the girl's last two shields. "It was a great pleasure dueling you, miss Tsugumi, but I am afraid that our match has to end here. Codedemon Ballom Mystery, todomeda!"_

_The goat demon waved the pair of hands from its lower region and used them to create a white laser ball which it cast upon Tsugumi and caused an explosion._

_Meanwhile at the UFO, Luna's room was a total mess but the girl had finally managed to find a swimsuit that would fit for her birthday. It was a blue swimsuit that had wave symbols on it, perfect for both her chosen civilization and it also matched her eyes and hair._

"_Alright people, I am ready!" the girl shouted and then she walked out of her room only to end up face to face with a person dressed in a blue robe with the symbol of the Water civilization on. "Oh, pardon me, I didn't mean to. May I help you?"_

"_I have come for you, chosen water duelist." a cold male voice came out of the hood that petrified the girl with fear._

"_Is this another one of your tricks, Edo?" Luna asked._

"_This is not a trick, I assure you." the person in front of her responded and then they pulled off their blue robe._

_Luna was amazed to see a blue haired boy about her age dressed in a light blue robotic suit that had the symbol of the water civilization on both hands. He also wore a metallic mask that covered his mouth, cheeks and nose and his green eyes were emanating nothing but coldness and hatred._

"_Who… are you?" Luna barely spoke._

"_I am Deta and I have been sent here to carry the task of obliterating the chosen duelists once and for all." he responded with an emotionless and completely rational tone in his voice._

"_Deta…And just who sent you here, duelist?"_

"_That is none of your business, chosen water duelist. Your concern right now should be that you are in grave danger."_

"_Grave danger, you say? I know what this implies."_

_Luna immediately rushed back to her room and took her deck out of the drawer. Then she went once again to the hallway where Deta was waiting for her with his deck already taken out._

"_It took you 15.7 seconds to find your deck. Compared to how long it took you to decide upon your swimwear, I am impressed." Deta remarked._

"_Is there anything else you'd like to tell me before we begin?" Luna asked as her deck shined and two dueling tables rose from the floor._

"_There is nothing that you need to know other than the fact that you will be annihilated." Deta replied while putting his deck on the table. "Now let us begin!"_

_Ten blue shields rose in the air, five for each duelist, and their match began._

"_I summon Marine Flower." Deta said._

"_I charge mana and end." Luna said._

"_I evolve Marine Flower into Astral Reef. Now I draw three cards. Astral Reef, break her shield!" Deta ordered and the wave like creature sent its water which pierced through one of Luna's shields._

"_I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow and draw a card!" Luna said and a red and blue cat appeared by her side._

"_I summon Qurian and draw a card." Deta said and a blue Cyber Lord riding a mini submarine appeared by his side. "Astral Reef, break another shield!"_

_The creature repeated its wave attack that once again tore through one of Luna's shields._

"_I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace one of my shields with a card from my hand. Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Luna ordered and the red and blue cat jumped at Deta and took down one of his shields._

"_I evolve Qurian into Emperor Maribel!" Deta said and then a female like Cyber Lord with black tentacles, a giant blue sphere for its lower region and a head that seemed like that of a gorgon appeared in the battle zone. "Meteorburn, I send Qurian to the graveyard and also send Aqua Super Emeral back to your hand. Emperor Maribel, break her shield!"_

_Once again one of Luna's shields was broken into tiny shards, but this time she saw that it was a trigger. The girl took the card to her hand and showed it to her opponent as it glowed with a blue light._

"_Shield trigger activate, I cast Spiral Gate and send Astral Rush back to your hand!" Luna said and she watched how a circle of water appeared around Deta's wave creature making it disappear and bouncing the two cards to his hand. "My turn, I summon Aqua Super Emeral and replace another one of my shields with a card from my hand. Now go, Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break another shield!"_

"_Ninja Strike 4, I summon Genius Janit of the Hidden Blade! Send Aqua Super Emeral back to her hand!" Deta said and then a blue Cyber Lord dressed in a golden ninja armor appeared in the battle zone and hit Luna's green Liquid People creature making it disappear._

_After that Genius Janit also disappeared and the red and blue cat used its sharp claws to slash off another one of Deta's shields. Then his turn came again and it would be the beginning of Luna's nightmare._

"_Emperor Maribel, evolve into Maxwell Z, the Super-Electric!" Deta said and then the gorgon like creature morphed into a giant blue robotic creature with black horns and a pair of long and majestic blue wings. "As long as Maxwell Z is in the battle zone, we won't be able to cast spells that share a civilization with a spell in our graveyards."_

"_Oh no!" Luna exclaimed as she looked at the Spiral Gate in her graveyard._

"_Maxwell Z, break her final shields!"_

_Obeying its master's order, Maxwell created a blue laser sphere with its hands which he cast upon Luna taking down her last two shields. The shield shards united into two cards that went to her hand but she was disappointed to see that they were both Intense Vacuuming Twist. She was the one that put them there with the effect of her Aqua Super Emeral, but she did not expect the possibility of not using them._

"_My turn, I summon Aqua Super Emeral and Emeral. Hot Spring Crimson Meow, break his shield!" Luna ordered and the red and blue cat slashed off a third shield._

"_Shield trigger activate, I summon Cutie Heart!" Deta said and then a blue Cyber Virus with yellow eyes and a small pink hear in its chest appeared in the battle zone. "By its effect I return Aqua Super Emeral to your hand!"_

"_This is it…" Luna sighed with disappointment._

"_Indeed. Anyone would have guessed that you were trying to put some shield triggers in your shields in order to counter my rush. I took a guess that they might be spells and thus I used my Maxwell Z. It turns out that I was right. I have proven you that both my intellect and dueling skills are superior to those of you, chosen water duelist!" Deta gave his victory speech to the saddened Luna. "And now it is time to terminate you! Maxwell Z, todomeda!"_

_The blue robotic creature created yet another blue laser sphere in its hands and this time he cast it upon Luna._

_At the beach Tigra was getting rather impatient. There was nothing interesting happening at all. All that she could see was how Edo and Subaru were swimming and playing in the water. She looked at her clock and saw that it was 10:30 AM. The girl began tapping her foot impatiently._

"_Tsh, the time is approaching and I still haven't got any news from my other anti-chosen duelists. I wonder what's taking them so long!"_

_All of a sudden her phone rang and then two holograms of Walter and Deta appeared to her. The satisfied look on Walter's face indicated her that she was going to get some well deserved good news._

"_Well? What did you do?" Tigra asked._

"_Tigra-sama, I have done as you have told me. Tsugumi the chosen light duelist has been dealt with!" Walter loyally spoke._

"_Mission accomplished. The chosen water duelist has been put out of function for our own good." Deta added._

"_Hahaha, excellent!" Tigra laughed. "That means that there's only one more left. Walter, call my driver and tell him to come and pick you and Deta and your two preys. We will meet back at the headquarters."_

"_As you command, Tigra-sama." Walter bowed._

_The white haired girl closed the call and then she turned her head at the beach yet again. Seeing that Subaru and Edo were at a good distance from it, she walked to the sheet where their clothes lied and let a small black hologram projector on. Then she turned around and walked away from the beach laughing maniacally once again._


	68. Return, part 3

_Splash! A wave of water had wet Subaru's head and his precious black mane yet again. But it was not nature's fault for the pure liquid that had touched his hair, rather the one who caused that to happen was none other than his best friend Edo. Two hours had passed since the beach party had started and yet they were still playing in the sea like children, ignoring everything else that was going on around them._

"_Take this, Suby!" Edo shouted and splashed more water onto his friend._

"_Oh yeah, Edo-kun?" Subaru replied and then he turned on his back and used his feet to splash water on his friend and propel himself away._

_As he was swimming away from the brown haired teen Subaru noticed that it was getting awfully quiet around him. It was very unusual for his friend to be quiet. When he raised his head he saw that there was no sign of the male chosen water duelist anywhere._

"_Oh no, Edo-kun!" Subaru exclaimed and got on his feet. "Where are you, Edo-kun?!"_

_In the next moment something from the deep grabbed the chosen darkness duelist and before he could react he was pulled underwater. There he saw the amused face of Edo who had tricked him yet again. At first Subaru seemed not impressed of his friend's antic but then he grabbed a handful of mud from the sea's ground and thrust it on Edo's face. Now it was the chosen darkness duelist's turn to laugh at him. However Edo didn't really seem to mind as he also laughed back._

_The two swam out of the water and challenged each other at a race to the shores with the usual saying: 'Last one there's a rotten egg!' It a matter of minutes Subaru reached the beach first as he was ironically a better swimmer than Edo the chosen water duelist. The black haired teen looked around and was surprised of seeing that everyone else was missing. Their stuff was still on their sheets with the exception of Tsugumi's and the grill was still burning. By the time Edo also got out of the water, Subaru was looking curiously at the hologram projector which he picked up from his sheet. _

"_Hey Suby, is something the matter?" Edo asked while walking to him._

"_Yes Edo-kun, something strange is going on here. Everyone else is missing and I've found this thing on our sheet." Subaru replied and then he showed the hologram projector. "I wonder if it's some kind of message."_

_The chosen darkness duelist pressed the red button on the machine and caused the hologram of Tigra to appear out of it. _

"_Hey it's that spiky girl with a flat chest from the tournament!" Edo exclaimed. "What was her name again? Taiga? Tundra? Tuna?"_

"_It's Tigra, Edo-kun." Subaru answered his friend's question and then both turned their attention to the hologram._

"_Greetings, Subaru and Edo, it has been a long time, hasn't it? Well, for Edo at least. By the time you receive this message your friends will have all vanished. That is because my anti-chosen duelists have captured them and taken them all back to the THEM headquarters. If you ever want to see them again, come at the abandoned card factory from the outskirts of the city. Be sure to be there until noon!"_

_And so the hologram disappeared. Subaru grabbed his cell phone and opened it to see that the clock was 11:05 AM. _

"_Crap! We don't have much time left, Edo-kun!" Subaru said and then he quickly put his short sleeved black T shirt with the symbol of the Darkness civilization on._

"_You're right, Suby!" Edo replied while putting his white shirt on. "But how are we going to get there?" he asked while dressing up in his blue jacket as well._

"_I'm trying to figure that out, Edo-kun." Subaru replied while putting his dark blue jeans on. _

"_Why don't we use the UFO?" Edo suggested and put his blue pants on as well._

"_Are you crazy? We don't know how to drive that thing." Subaru replied and then he put on his black socks and white sneakers._

"_Should we call a taxi?" Edo suggested after putting on his light blue socks and dark blue shoes._

"_Yeah sure, as if I'd want to spend my money on taxi rockets." Subaru ironically stated while putting his deck and cell phone in his jeans' pockets._

"_Then what are we going to do?" Edo asked and then he tried to put on his blue tie._

"_We'll run there!" Subaru said and then he rushed to the stairs._

"_Cool, I love running!" Edo replied and ran after his friend._

_And so the duo moved as quick as they could all the way from the beach to the other side of the city at its outskirts. It was a long and tiresome run but by the time they reached their destination, the lonely abandoned card factory, it was 11:25 AM. However all that running during the middle of a hot summer day was not good at all for them. If Subaru was exhausted and was breathing heavily, Edo seemed rather ill due to the fact that his clothing was also thicker than that of his friend's and thus the heat had caused him to sweat a lot. _

"_This is it, Edo-kun, the old card factory. And we've reached it in twenty minutes, a brand new running record for us!" Subaru exclaimed._

"_Awesome…" Edo mumbled and wiped the sweat off his whole face. "I think I need a shower after all this exercise."_

"_Maybe later, right now we've got to save our friends."_

_And with those words being said, Subaru and Edo set foot in the factory. Inside was very dark and cold, light could barely enter from the small windows, dust was floating in the air, spiders were joyously making their webs in corners, the rusty machines were sleeping their eternal rest, and a mouse snaked out of a crack in the wall for a moment to see what was inside an old dusty crate but was then scared off by the presence of Subaru and Edo and the little rodent rushed back in the crack. _

"_I don't really like this place, Suby. It's giving me the creeps!" Edo said while trembling._

"_Be strong Edo-kun, we have to rescue our friends." Subaru responded and kept walking around._

"_Ssh, something's coming, Suby!" _

"_What? I hear nothing."_

"_No Suby, I'm not wrong, something's really coming!"_

_All of a sudden some footsteps were heard. The duo stopped and waited for whoever was coming to reach them. With each step that was being taken, they felt how their heartbeats were running faster and faster. Sweat started falling down Subaru's face as well, that adding only more to the tension and discomfort. The cowardly Edo hid behind him trembling and he covered his eyes with Subaru's black T shirt._

"_I can't look, Suby!" Edo barely spoke._

"_Edo-kun, there's no need to worry." Subaru tried to lie to both himself and his friend._

_All of a sudden a pipe fell in front of them and produced a loud and horrible metallic noise that made Edo scream in fear. What followed next was an evil laughter and then a figure dressed in a black robe with the Darkness civilization symbol appeared in front of Subaru. Edo's immediate reaction was that of hugging his friend's back and trembling harder than ever._

"_We have come here like Tigra had asked us to. Who are you?" Subaru demanded to know while trying to hide his own fear._

"_The anti-chosen darkness duelist." a grim voice came out of the hood._

"_Wait a minute, I know this voice…"_

"_Of course you do, Subaru the chosen darkness duelist."_

_In the next moment the figure pulled off their robe and Subaru saw a teenage boy around his same age and height, with short white hair that was raised up in the front, yellow eyes, black jeans, black gloves with the Darkness civilization symbol and a black T shirt with the words 'I AM THE BEST' printed on._

"_Honda…" Subaru said with disgust._

"_It's been a long time, eh Subaru?" Honda replied with a maniacal grin on his face._

"_Huh? You know this guy, Suby?" Edo asked._

"_Of course I do, back when you were paralyzed after we lost a battle to Kaizer I decided to quit the chosen duelists." Subaru began narrating. "The Proof sent the others out to find a replacement for me and that's how this freak took my place. Of course, he meant trouble, because once inside the UFO he started telling everyone ghost stories and then he sent his Ghost creatures to scare them like no tomorrow. That was until I came back, gave him a test of his own medicine with my Hunters, and kicked him out to reclaim my place."_

"_And I will never forget the humiliation that you've inflicted upon me since that day, Subaru Geki." Honda spoke with anger. "Once I was kicked out of the UFO I was approached by Tigra. She offered me shelter and a place in THEM. During these months she trained me hard so that I could perfect my Ghost deck and become her anti-chosen darkness duelist. And now I am ready to fulfill my mission once and for all!"_

"_What mission?"_

"_To terminate you chosen duelists and then take over the world once and for all!"_

_Upon hearing that, Subaru took out his glowing deck._

"_Tell me where you have hidden my friends, you bastard!" the chosen darkness duelist demanded._

"_Why tell you when you could join them?" Honda replied with his arrogant smile on his face as he took out his own deck. _

_Two dueling tables rose from the floor and Edo made a few steps back from them. The two duelists put their decks on the tables, set five cards as their shields, drew five cards and began their duel. In the meantime Edo sat on a wooden crate and watched as the match went by._

"_I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Subaru said and then a black haired male dressed in a dark blue suit with a black cape, a black shirt and a red tie appeared by his side._

"_Oh how fabulous, you're facing the Honda creep again!" Atsuto made a remark while offering Subaru two cards in his hand. "Let's hope that he won't try to sabotage your strategy this time."_

"_I'm hoping the same thing, pal." _

_Atsuto selected Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and Aqua Naruto Surfer from Subaru's hand and discarded both. Then the chosen darkness duelist ended._

"_I generate Master Weapon – All Yes!" Honda said._

"_Huh? A cross gear?" Subaru asked._

"_It's been a long time since I last saw one of those fabulous things." Atsuto added._

"_This cross gear will mark the beginning of your terror." Honda assured._

"_We'll see about that! I summon Deepsea Typhoon." Subaru said and then he drew a card and discarded Ogre Kaiser "Destruction"._

"_Hehe, I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction!" Honda said and then a blue Ghost with two burning white candles on its shoulders and chains that ended in snake mouths coming out of its body appeared in the battle zone._

"_Oh no, that's not fabulous!" Atsuto immediately exclaimed. "That creature makes your spells cost 1 more for each spell in your graveyard. That means that he's going to use that same spell that made you lose your Miracle Re Born last time!"_

"_Lost Mind Torture…" Subaru whispered while putting a card in his mana zone and then he said. "I summon Super Go On Pippi and end!"_

"_Hehehe, your friend was right Subaru!" Honda affirmed and then he tapped four mana cards and showed a Darkness spell card. "I cast Lost Mind Torture!"_

_Two blue snakes appeared and hissed at Subaru as he showed the only card in his hand which was Miracle Re Born. The snakes bit it and made him discard it._

"_And now your spells cost 1 more to cast. I end my turn." Honda said with satisfaction._

_Subaru drew his next card and saw that it was Hyperspatial Emperor Hole. He had no other cards in his hand, four cards in his mana zone and one spell in his graveyard that made the card in his hand cost one more to cast. Sighing, he placed the Darkness spell in his mana zone and ended his turn._

"_The despair in your eyes… I love it!" Honda said while charging mana. "And now let's amplify it, shall we? I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation and cross it with Master Weapon – All Yes!"_

_A fat white ghost with a giant sharp teethed mouth for a belly and four hands appeared in the battle zone along with a black and golden spear in one of them._

"_Hehehe, now my Time Tripper is a 5000 power blocker!" Honda laughed._

"_Things aren't looking fabulous at all!" Atsuto said sweating._

"_I know…" Subaru replied while looking disappointed at the card that he just drew. "I summon Funk, Guard of Hope and end!"_

"_Funk would have been useful in a different situation. He gives -5000 power to the opponent's psychic creatures and -1000 power to the opponent's non-psychic creatures. Honda doesn't use psychic creatures, so basically the only good thing that you did is that you brought his Batou Shoulder to 1000 power and Time Tripper to 4000 power." Atsuto analyzed the situation._

"_For all the good that'll do." Honda added ironically. "I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"_

_The ghastly duelist revealed the top three cards of his deck which were Bega, Vizier of Shadow, Aqua Surfer and Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight. Aqua Surfer went to his graveyard and the other two went to his hand._

"_I also summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and end!"_

_The next card that Subaru drew was Hades Death Gate which he obviously couldn't use so he placed it in his mana zone tapped due to Time Tripper's effect and afterwards he ended his turn._

"_Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you have bad luck." Atsuto patted him on the back._

"_No, this is what happens when Darkness totally consumes you!" Honda intervened and then he raised a card in the air which landed upon his only multicolored card in the battle zone. "Evolution! Bloody Shadow, become Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture!"_

_A Ghost with a horned skull for a head and that was dressed in a red tailcoat with snakes coming out of it appeared behind Honda with a burning candle in front of it. Snake Tailcoat diabolically laughed. Its laughter brought chills down Subaru's, Atsuto's and Edo's spines._

"_I was honestly hoping I would never have to see this creep again." Subaru openly complained._

"_Well Subaru, this creep is about to bring you your worst nightmare!" Honda replied with the look of a psychopath on his face. "I attack with Snake Tailcoat, discard Bega and destroy Deepsea Typhoon! Go, Snake Tailcoat, double break his shields!"_

_The Ghost sent two snakes from both its sleeves which pierced through two of Subaru's shields._

"_Then I attack with Time Tripper and by Master Weapon – All Yes's effect I discard a card from your hand!" Honda said and then he watched with satisfaction how Super Infernal Gate Smash fell from Subaru's hand into his graveyard while the fat ghost used the spear to pierce through another shield of his. "Batou Shoulder, Cebu Aquman Jr, break his shields as well!" _

_Once the attacks were over Subaru was left shield less. Honda ended his turn and the chosen darkness duelist drew a card. He was highly disappointed in his hand, for he had Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Persistent Prison of Gaia, Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger and Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist. He had six mana, if he would charge mana that turn it wouldn't count because of Time Tripper's effect of forcing him to put mana tapped. In other words, summoning Thunder Blade or Liger Blade was out of discussion. Then he couldn't even cast Persistent Prison of Gaia because of the Miracle Re Born and Super Infernal Gate Smash in his graveyard that were making his spells cost two more to cast, and what a pity that the only spell in his hand had a cost of five. He shamefully placed Galaxy Falcon in his mana zone and ended his turn awaiting his imminent end._

"_My, my, is it just me or is the almighty chosen darkness duelist not living up to his standards?" Honda stuck his tongue out but Subaru remained silent. "Anyway, it's time to end this! Snake Tailcoat, get him, todomeda!"_

_In the next moment the two snakes that came out of the Ghost's sleeves grabbed Subaru with their mouths and lifted him in the air. Edo and Atsuto tried to save him but two other snakes came out of the tailcoat and one bit Atsuto and made him disappear back into his card while the other pushed Edo against the wall where he was knocked unconscious._

"When I woke up Honda was gone and he took my friend Suby with him. What was left was Suby's deck that I gathered up and put it in my pocket. When I got outside of that factory I saw the whole city on fire and giant creatures that were destroying it. People were trying to run for their lives but most were captured and taken away somewhere. I don't know how, but I ended up in a trash bin and hid there until I felt that it was safe to come out. And when I did, I saw Tigra's big fat ugly face on a screen that was installed on the city's mall and she was telling the world that the New World Order of THEM was beginning that day. That's when I realized that this was her plan all along: get the chosen duelists out of the picture and then take over the world. But she forgot one important detail: me!"

Edo walked out of an alley with a red caped dark blue tight jumpsuit that had a white circle on with the blue sign of a semicircular wave. Smiling, he tied a dark blue headband on the region of his eyes. The headband had two holes that allowed him to see through it.

"From this day forth I swear that I will give my greatest efforts to save my friends, the chosen duelists! Tigra, beware, because you are about to face the wrath of Aqua Edo!" the newborn hero shouted and raised his right hand's index finger in the air.

"Intruder intercepted!" a robotic voice spoke.

Aqua Edo looked up and much to his shock he saw an Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit passing by. It was obviously a creature that belonged to THEM and once it saw him, Auzesu began firing lasers using the eye from its chest. The hero started running as fast as he could to find a place to hide as the creature chased him on the streets.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the undergrounds of the city, the new THEM headquarters had finally been finished. The THEM members were all dressed up in their robes and with their masks on, all working hard to successfully oppress the common citizens and install their New World Order. Inside the control room where there were computer screens for each THEM camera that was spread out there in the world, Tigra was sitting on her throne triumphantly. Walter was pouring her a cup of tea. Rita, Honda and Deta sat on a sofa looking at their master and Wasp was sitting on the cold floor.

"So where are our special guests?" Tigra asked while taking the cup of tea from Walter's hands.

"All five of them are locked in the dungeon as you have requested, master." Walter informed her.

"Yeah, they won't be bothering us any time soon." Honda intervened.

"And if they did, we'd show em who the real sheriffs in this town are!" Rita added.

"Indeed. Everything is going better than I thought!" Tiger said and then she reached her free hand in her armor and pulled out five cards which she showed to her anti-chosen duelists. "Bolshack Cross NEX, Terradragon Diruga Vejida, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits, Crystal Zweilancer and Dorballom, Lord of Demons; all five chosen cards are now in my possession, all thanks to you. Moreover, thanks to my semi-competent Monk I now also have the second Proof. The only thing left for us to find is the real Proof of Duelmaster! Once we have that, the final phase of our plan will be completed!"

"But Tigra-sama, wasn't conquering the whole world the final phase?" Honda asked.

"Yeah, Wasp thought that once big boss Tigra rules the world, big boss Tigra is happy and Wasp becomes powerful." Wasp added.

"Oh, but I dare to contradict you, boys. You see, my goals rank a little higher than the conquering of the whole world. Now that doesn't mean that we won't conquer it, on the contrary, our THEM members all around the world are attacking each and every country. But I for one plan to use the power of the two Proofs and of the five chosen cards in a special ritual that will bring back something that was taken away from me."

Wasp looked fascinated at his master, Honda seemed curious of what Tigra was trying to get back, Rita simply shrugged her shoulders, Deta did not show the slightest bit of interest and Walter nodded to his master, showing that he indeed understood what she was saying.

"But for now you are all dismissed!" Tigra said but then she also made a sign with her hand to Walter informing him that she wanted to have a talk with him.

Once they were left alone in the control room, Tigra took off her spiky golden armor revealing her body that was covered only by a bra and a pair of underwear. The girl stretched her arms and said:

"Ah Walter, all this hard work is giving me really bad back pains."

"I understand your suffering, Tigra-sama." Walter replied while picking up the bits of her armor and putting them on another chair. "Shall I offer you a massage?"

"That would be lovely!" the girl exclaimed and then she walked to the sofa and sat there on her belly, exposing her back to the young butler that began to massage her gently. "Walter, how long is it until we find the Proof of Duelmaster?"

"If we manage to track the UFO of the chosen duelists, it won't be long, Tigra-sama."

"Good. I miss daddy so much, Walter!"

And with those words being said, Tigra closed her eyes and fell to sleep. Walter took a black pelt that was lying under the sofa, wiped the dust bits off it and then he used it to cover the daughter of Zakira that was sleeping peacefully like a baby.

"Sweet dreams, Tigra-sama." Walter wished her and then he walked out of the room.


	69. Plans

Honda sat on a large red stone in front of his dueling table with his hands crossed. Snake Tailcoat was floating above him with snakes hissing out of its tailcoat. Burning flames was surrounding both Honda and his opponent as the devouring lava underneath them was slowly rising.

"I generate Master Weapon – All Yes and cross it to Snake Tailcoat!" Honda said and then a golden spear appeared in his Ghost's hands. "How do you like him now, Subaru?"

Subaru did not say a word and instead his laid his head down and growled angrily.

"Do you want some?" Honda arrogantly asked while tapping the card and then he tossed the last card from his hand in the graveyard. "I attack with Snake Tailcoat and discard Hades Death Gate to destroy your Silver Volg!"

Two snakes rushed out of the tailcoat and grabbed and devoured the silver wolf with purple mane.

"Then with Master Weapon – All Yes's effect I discard the last card from your hand!" Honda continued and watched how Subaru discarded Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff. "Snake Tailcoat, break his final shields!"

The Ghost clasped its hands together and emitted a wave of darkness that broke Subaru's last two shields.

"Bega, Vizier of Shadow, todomeda!" Honda ordered and in a matter of seconds the chosen darkness duelist fell in the raging lava.

In the next moment the whole volcanic imagery disappeared and Honda found himself back in the training room from the THEM headquarters. Sitting at the door was Rita and the cowgirl applauded her colleague saying:

"Way to go, partner! Honda, you showed that chosen duelist that you're a true cowboy! Even though he was just a hologram…"

Honda packed up his cards and then he walked out of the room passing by her and completely ignoring her.

"Heh, tough as always." Rita remarked.

At the city it seemed that all hope was lost. The army of THEM creatures was terrorizing the city in horrible ways. Guardians were flying above dropping bombs on the buildings, Armored Dragons, Earth Dragons, Zombie Dragons, Poseidia Dragons and Apollonia Dragons were taking down everything on the land that moved, Angel Commands and Demon Commands were flying down the streets searching for humans to either imprison or destroy. And finally, a THEM member that was leading the whole attack sat proudly on his Codename Sherlock and watched how his fellow brothers were causing a massacre with their creatures.

At the Duel Masters summer school, the whole building had been covered by a titanium shield so that nothing could get past it and also the schoolyard had its protective barrier on. Inside of it, all the students were panicked fearing for their families and loved ones that were out there in the middle of the raging storm of creatures. While the teachers were trying to calm them down, Wally sat in front of the screen with his deck ready in his hands looking at the disaster that was going on beyond the walls of his school. His right hand began to glow with a white aura and then he silently spoke:

"Even my Zeniths wish to be out there to crush those bastards. But I can't, that's what Tigra would want me to do so she could catch me just like she did with the chosen duelists. I've got to stay put and wait. Oh God, only a miracle could save us now!"

Meanwhile sneaking out in the darkened alleys of the city were Nolan and Hanna, and both were carrying the heavy and anesthetized Robert on their backs. Their plan was to reach the UFO of the chosen duelists for shelter and then to aid the heroes into thinking out a plan of stopping the invasion of THEM.

"Where did you say that they were exactly?" Hanna asked.

"They parked the UFO at the beach." Nolan calmly answered.

"And how long is it until we get there?! My spine is starting to hurt!"

"Calm down Hanna, we should be there in a matter of minutes. I can already see the sea in the horizon."

"I could have thought of a much better way of spending this afternoon together, Nolan. But oh well, it seems that Tigra had forced me to change our whole schedule."

"Yeah, let's just hope that we manage to get there in one piece."

In the next moment Hanna's right hand glowed with a bright purple aura and a black nine headed dragon appeared in front of them.

"You summoned Lunarzberg?!" Nolan shouted.

"Yes, he'll take us to the beach." Hanna replied and then she put the sleepy Robert on the dragon's back. "Did you think that I could take more of carrying him around?"

"But Hanna, don't you fear that we might get spotted?"

"Don't worry, my creature is fast enough!"

"If you say so…"

And so the duo sat on the dragon's back along with Robert and the blue haired girl ordered Lunarzberg to take off. In a few seconds the dragon was searing through the sky majestically heading towards the beach.

"Woah!" Nolan exclaimed amazed of the great height.

"See?" Hanna stuck her tongue out at him. "This is a much easier…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a laser came from the city hit Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg, forcing the wounded creature to make an emergency landing on the beach.

At the THEM headquarters Honda was walking calmly down the metallic corridor heading towards the opened door of the control room. Once inside he fell on his left knee, putting his right hand on his right knee and laying his head down in respect. In front of him sat Tigra on a throne with her arms crossed and an authoritarian look on her face.

"Honda, have you located the Proof? Hm?" Tigra asked.

"Yes, Tigra-sama!" the anti chosen darkness duelist replied. "I am certain. It will be found."

"How long is it until I will have it in my grasp?"

"I promise you that very soon you will be in its possession, master. But for this to happen, I wish that you let me use Rita and Wasp for this mission."

"Rita and Wasp?"

"Yes, I will need their services in order to accomplish our goals."

"Hm, very well, you can have them, Honda. But remember: failure will not be tolerated!"

"I understand, Tigra-sama, and I promise that I will use my colleagues well."

"Good, you are dismissed."

And so Honda got up, turned around and left the control room. Once he found himself all alone in the corridors, he silently spoke to himself:

"No, Tigra, you were never worthy of holding the ultimate power! But there is a deserving duelist, and I am more than willing to take over! Hahaha…"

Luckily for Nolan and Hanna, Lunarzberg landed on the beach right next to the chosen duelist UFO. But the attack was too much for the poor dragon that seemed to have been fatally wounded. While Nolan was carrying Robert all the way to the UFO, Hanna was sitting next to her dragon watching its life slowly fade away.

"I am sorry for being so reckless, Lunarzberg. This is the second time that you are hurt because of me." Hanna apologized to her creature with tears coming down her eyes. "If only there was a way I could make it up to you."

The dragon's main head came to her, sniffed the girl's hair then licked her head. Afterwards it smiled to her and the whole dragon got surrounded by a purple aura and disappeared. Then Hanna felt something strange and checked her deck to find her Super Necrodragon Lunarzberg card transformed into a Darkness Galaxy Vortex Evolution creature that had 6 mana and 12000 power.

"Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai?" Hanna read its name. "Is that you, Lunarzberg?"

A roar came out of the card indicating her that she was right. Happy that her creature had survived and had evolved into an even stronger Zombie Dragon, she slid the card back in her deck and rushed inside the UFO.

"Hey Nolan, where is everyone?" Hanna asked after finding him walking slowly with Robert's arm around his neck.

"I don't know, I called them out three times and got no answer." Nolan replied. "Maybe they're out on vacation or something."

"When THEM has launched a full attack upon the city? I highly doubt it."

"Anyway, care to help me take big guy here to the hospital room?"

"Alright Nolan, we've got to wake Robert up as quickly as possible!"

After an hour the two had managed to get Robert on a hospital bed and connect him to machines that would help him recover fully. Then the two searched every inch of the spaceship but there was no sign of any chosen duelists. Now they were both walking on the corridor to the kitchen and discussing.

"Where could they be? It's not them to leave the UFO like that." Nolan said.

"It's a mystery I'm afraid." Hanna sighed. "So what should we do now?"

"I don't know honestly. It's either we search for the chosen duelists or we begin our own attack on THEM while we still can!"

"But what can we do besides fighting their invading creatures? We don't know exactly where Tigra vanished and if we can't find the base at which she's hiding then everything will be pointless!"

"I agree, Hanna. If we attack, we should be able to bring Tigra down so that THEM could collapse. But if we just sit around like ducks waiting to be shot, then we are giving that bitch enough time to track us down!"

"Track us down? Why would she do that? She doesn't even know that we pose a threat to her."

"Yeah, that's why we hold the element of surprise against her. If only the chosen duelists were here too…" Nolan spoke with regret.

"Don'cha worry partner, you'll be seeing them soon!" a female voice resounded from the entrance of the UFO.

When Nolan and Hanna turned their sights to the opened doors, they had the shock of seeing three persons entering it. Those were Rita, Wasp and Honda.

"And just who might be you?" Nolan asked while approaching them.

"We're Tigra-sama's anti-chosen duelists!" Wasp said excitedly.

"Anti-chosen duelists?!" both Nolan and Hanna exclaimed shocked.

"Yeah, and we've come here to herd ya two back in the stable!" Rita added with her Texan accent.

"What is Tigra up to now?" Hanna demanded an answer.

"Spiky boss Tigra captured chosen duelists. But Tigra is still not happy, so Tigra wants more prisoners!" Wasp explained while taking out his deck. "Wasp will personally take care of you!"

"Count good ol' Rita in as well, partner!" the red haired girl added while taking out her deck as well.

"Tigra captured our friends?!" Hanna shouted.

"Grr, you're not going to get us that easily!" Nolan threatened and pulled out his deck.

The blue haired girl pulled out her deck as well and four dueling tables rose from the metallic floor. The four duelists walked to each and set their cards on them. Honda crossed his arms and walked to a corner of the room where he would be unnoticed. Then with a malevolent grin on his face he spoke to Rita and Wasp:

"Crush them!"

And so the twenty shields rose in the air, five for each duelist, and the matches began. It was Rita VS Nolan and Wasp VS Hanna.

"Ah cast Mendlessohn!" Rita said and revealed the top two cards of her deck which were Faerie Life and Cocco Lupia, both of which landed in her graveyard. "Tsh…"

"Now that's what I call bad luck." Nolan mocked her. "I summon Clap, Defender of Hope!"

"Ah see ya like Fire Birds. Then let me bring out some as well – Ah summon Cocco Lupia!"

"Sorry cowgirl, but I can't allow you to get Fire Birds out! I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist!"

Nolan took the top five cards of his deck and looked at them. He selected Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, showed it to his opponent and then he bounced Cocco Lupia back to her hand. Afterwards he put the Fire spell to his hand and put the other four cards to the bottom of his deck.

"Clap, Defender of Hope, break her shield!" Nolan ordered and the Fire Bird flew through one of Rita's shields.

"Ah summon Eco Aini!" Rita said and then the top card of her deck which was Mendelssohn ended up in her mana zone. "Ah end."

"I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and destroy Eco Aini. Then I put Bolshack Dragon, the Temporal Blaze in the battle zone!"

A red dragon with black horns, fire hands, black armor and long sharp red wings and a long red tail descended from a fire hole from the ceiling and landed behind Nolan.

"Oh, ya got a Bolshack too? Well let me introduce you to my own Bolshack – Ah summon Bolshack NEX!" Rita said and then a red dragon with silver horns, big wings, fire hands, white armor and a long red and white tail that had a zig zag separating the two colors appeared behind her. "With its effect Ah put Cocco Lupia from my deck in the battle zone!"

"I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap Bolshack NEX. Then I put Chakra, Temporal Thunder Dragon in the battle zone!" Nolan said and then a blue mechanical dragon appeared by his side. "Bolshack Dragon, the Temporal Blaze, attack Bolshack NEX! And since my Bolshack Dragon gets +1000 from the Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole from my graveyard, he destroys Bolshack NEX!"

The two dragons fought each other by hitting themselves with their flaming hands but in the air Nolan's psychic Bolshack spat fire upon Rita's Bolshack killing it.

"Awaken! Since my Bolshack Dragon won a battle, he turns into Bolshack Mobius, Victory Awakened!" Nolan said and then his creature got surrounded by a red aura, grew in size and turned into a bigger version of itself that had four arms instead of two. "By its effect, I untap Bolshack Mobius. Then I attack with it again and send one of my shields to the graveyard to destroy your Cocco Lupia! Bolshack Mobius, triple break her shields!"

The psychic creature spat fire from its mouth upon Rita's shields, burning off three of them.

"Shield trigger, Ah cast two Faerie Life!" Rita said and then the top two cards from her deck which were Messa Danjiri Dragon and Codeking Cantabile landed in her mana zone.

"Clap, Defender of Hope, break her final shield!" Nolan ordered and the fire bird flew through the cowgirl's last shield. "I end."

"Ah think I've had enough of you for one day, pal! Ah summon Bolbalzak Ex and untap my mana. Then Ah summon Codeking Ludwig!"

The two Dragons appeared in the battle zone as soon as Rita put the two cards on the table.

"Go, Bolbalzak Ex, take down that Clap birdie!" Rita ordered and the red armored white winged dragon with an X scar on its chest fired lasers from the two guns on its shoulders and killed the little Fire Bird. "Then Codeking Ludwig suicide Bolshack Mobius and destroy Chakra!"

"Heh, got'cha!" Nolan smiled and after his Chakra got destroyed he simply flipped his Fire psychic creature to its weaker part.

"But how?" Rita asked while watching her Codeking Ludwig land in her graveyard.

"Bolshack Mobius has release, meaning that if it leaves the battle zone I can simply flip it to its other side. In other words, you're toast, partner! Bolshack Dragon, the Temporal Blaze, todomeda!"

Rita fell on the floor defeated along with her cards. Nolan wiped his hands victoriously and then he turned to see the duel between Wasp and Hanna.

"Wasp summons Poisonous Mushroom and Wasp puts Whip Scorpion in his mana zone."

"I charge mana and end." Hanna said.

"Wasp has plans! Wasp summons Crowd Mayfly!"

A giant orange fly with a pair of yellow wings and one of white wings, a long tail, two pairs of feet and two mantis claws appeared by Wasp's side.

"Then Wasp breaks shield with Poisonous Mushroom!"

A giant red mushroom jumped at Hanna and used the top of its head to break her shield. The girl didn't show any signs of getting shield triggers.

"My turn, I charge mana and summon Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo!" Hanna said. "With its effect I destroy Abayo Shabayo and you'll have to destroy one of your creatures as well!"

"Wasp destroys Poisonous Mushroom!" Wasp said and the giant mushroom blew up. "Now it's Wasp's turn, Wasp summons Sniper Mosquito and Sword Butterfly! Then Wasp double breaks your shields with Crowd Mayfly!"

The orange fly flew towards Hanna and used its mantis like claws to slash two of her shields. However, the shield shards regenerated into two cards that shined with purple lights as she showed them to him and said:

"Shield trigger, I summon Necrodragon Odol Needle! Also, shield trigger, I cast Primal Scream!"

The top four cards from Hanna's deck fell into her graveyard, those being Codename Yabasgil Skill, Necrodragon Guljeneraid, Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai and Necrodragon Danchigai Fankigai.

"I return Necrodragon Danchigai Fankigai to my hand and since I have a Zombie Dragon in the battle zone, I put Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai from the graveyard in the battle zone!" Hanna said. "Now it's my turn, I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!"

A blue ghost wielding two scythes and dressed in a black cape that had six burning candles hanging on it and a crown with burning candles above its skull head and with a red crystal in its chest appeared behind Hanna and screamed at her opponent. Then the top four cards of her deck fell into her graveyard, those being Necrodragon Devolution, Necrodragon Guljeneraid, Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai and Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai.

"I return Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai to my hand and put Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai into the battle zone!" Hanna said and then she ended her turn.

"It is time for Wasp to end this! Wasp evolves Sniper Mosquito into Dyno Mantis, the Mightspinner!" Wasp said and then a giant green mantis appeared in the battle zone. "Go, Dyno Mantis, double brea…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the mantis attacked one of Hanna's Zombie Dragons and both creatures got destroyed.

"Huh? What's the meaning of this? Wasp was going to order it to break your shields!"

"Haha, I guess you didn't see that I put Necrodragon Odol Needle in the battle zone tapped." Hanna commented. "You see, my Necrodragon Odol Needle forces your creatures to attack it and during a battle with him both creatures are destroyed! Also, since one of my Dragons got destroyed, I also put my two Necrodragon Guljeneraid from the graveyard in the battle zone!"

Two dark brown winged dragons appeared by Hanna's side and roared at Wasp.

"Grr… you tricked Wasp! Wasp does not like this! Wasp breaks your final shields with Crowd Mayfly!" Wasp shouted and the orange fly flew towards Hanna and used its sharp mantis like claws to slash her last two shields into pieces.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Sword Butterfly!" Hanna said and then a black gate appeared above her and opened its doors revealing purple tentacles that ended with sharp teethed mouths which grabbed Wasp's purple butterfly and devoured it.

"Wasp ends his turn." the anti-chosen nature duelist sighed.

"Grave Galaxy Vortex! I evolve Codename Yabasgil Skill, Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Necrodragon Devolution from my graveyard into Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai!"

A giant horned dragon made of bones which was wielding two swords appeared in the battle zone and stared upon Wasp with its white eyes and revealing its sharp teeth.

"Wasp does not like this!" he exclaimed while sweating.

"Of course you don't, because you're finished! Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai, triple break his shields!" Hanna ordered and the dragon swung its swords and slashed off three of Wasp's shields.

"Shield trigger, Wasp casts Natural Snare and sends a Necrodragon Guljeneraid to the mana zone!"

Two purple vines grabbed one of the dark brown dragons and consumed it until it became a purple mana crystal and its card landed in Hanna's mana zone.

"Necrodragon Guljeneraid, break his final shields!" Hanna ordered and the other dark brown dragon spat fire from its mouth which melted Wasp's last two shields.

"Shield trigger, Wasp summons Princess Cub, Free Spirit!" Wasp said and then a small bear cub appeared by his side.

"Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai, todomeda!"

Wasp fell on the floor defeated along with his cards. Rita woke up and tried to pack up her cards and Wasp's while Nolan and Hanna hi fived and cheered their victory. But then they heard footsteps coming from the corridor from their left and when the two heroes turned their heads to it they saw Honda walking out with both hands in his pockets.

"Guess it's your turn!" Nolan said and showed his deck.

Honda did not say a thing to any of them. In the next moment Snake Tailcoat appeared behind its master and its snakes attacked both Nolan and Hanna. Afterwards Honda walked out of the UFO completely ignoring the wounded Rita and Wasp.

Outside night had fallen and the burning city was shining behind the UFO like a torch. Honda walked on the beach while looking at the starry sky and thinking:

"Tigra's two lackeys proved useful even if they are a little unbalanced. Not up to my standards, but I'll worry about replacing them once I'm in control."

Honda then pulled out his right hand from his pants' pocket and looked at the blue gem which he snatched from the UFO, the Proof of Duelmaster.

"The age of Honda will soon begin… with this!" Honda thought while smiling evilly at the Proof. "I can buy my time!"

And so he disappeared in the night like a shadow while laughing diabolically.


	70. Conspiracy

Tigra hit with her fist a computer screen that was showing the city that was burning in flames as the creatures of her minions were rounding up the prisoner citizens. The girl growled angrily, her face looking more menacing than ever even if she wore an X mask that covered her eyes.

"What's the matter, Tigra-sama?" Walter asked while bringing her a cup of tea.

"It's that blasted Honda!" Tigra growled to her butler. "It's been two days since he left and he didn't bring me the Proof!"

"Well Rita and Wasp did return and they are now recovering from their loss."

"Yes, I know. But they are useless to me until they recuperate."

"Indeed. But Tigra-sama, what is the reason that you are mad now? It can't be because of Rita's and Wasp's situations."

"Of course not, my dear Walter. It's because of Honda. He told me that he was going to get the Proof and that he would use Rita and Wasp for his mission. Now those two come back and say that they lost to two strangers that were in the UFO and that Honda left them to rot there."

"I see, so the mission ended with Honda disappearing without a trace, Rita and Wasp defeated by two strangers and no Proof for you. But Tigra-sama, may I ask if you know how those two strangers looked like?"

"They said that one was an African-American wearing glasses and he was with a Caucasian blue haired girl with blue eyes. They think that those two might be friends of the chosen duelists."

"Maybe they know something about the Proof."

"If that is the case, then why did Honda not face them, Walter? Why did he disappear?"

"Maybe he feared your wrath because he failed on his mission and decided to hide."

"Oh, Honda will have much more to fear once I get my hands on him! Call Deta, I wish to talk to him." Tigra ordered.

"As you command, Tigra-sama." Walter bowed down and then he left the room.

After five minutes Deta appeared at the entrance door and walked in. The blue haired male kneeled in front of his master and said:

"I have come as you requested, Tigra-sama."

"Deta, I have an important mission for you." Tigra replied. "I wish you to track down Honda and bring him to me at all costs!"

"Your wish is my command." Deta shortly responded and then he got up, turned around and left the room.

Walter entered the control room as soon as Deta disappeared and then the anti-chosen light duelist offered Tigra a small box with chocolate biscuits. As she began to eat them, Walter arranged his butler gloves and said:

"May I know what mission you gave to him?"

"He will find Honda and bring him to me… dead or alive." Tigra said and then she bit a biscuit.

"I see. Nobody can escape the wrath of Tigra." Walter commented.

"And it's time that he knew that as well!"

At the city the chaos of the creatures seemed to have stopped and most of them disappeared. However there were still a few THEM members that were using their creatures to search for survivors under the ruins in order to imprison them. Blane hid behind the metallic wall of a now roofless building hoping that he would not be found.

"Sheesh, you go out for some meat and the next thing you know some maniacs attack the city with their creatures and now you're trying to survive for three days." Blane thought. "Gosh, I wonder why the chosen duelists didn't come to save the day yet."

"What is it, La Ura Giga? You sense something?" a voice came from outside.

A THEM member entered the building dressed up in his white robe with a blue horned mask. He was accompanied by a plane like creature, a La Ura Giga, Sky Guardian. The creature began scanning the room looking for any signs of life. But little did they know that Blane was hiding behind the door and he was also waiting. As soon as they were at the perfect distance, Blane took out his sword, jumped at them, cut La Ura Giga in half making it disappear and then he pointed the sword at the THEM member.

"Alright buddy, care to fill me on what's going on before I turn you into pieces of ham?" Blane threatened.

The THEM member mumbled something in fear and then he fainted. Blane sighed and then he put the sword in his sheath saying:

"That's the seventh one in three days. Are all these guys really that big of pussies?"

Suddenly someone screamed in the alley next to the building. Blane jumped with his looks at the source of the scream and exclaimed:

"Sounds like it's a job for a hero!"

Outside a person backed down and ended up against a wall as the snakes of a Ghost dressed in a red tailcoat were slowly approaching their neck. Honda got up from the ground and wiped the dust off his black T shirt.

"And who told you that it would be such a great idea to come back and spy upon me, eh?" Honda asked ironically. "Just what did you hope to achieve from attacking me?"

The person did not answer but instead they trembled and sweated in fear as the snakes reached their body.

"Heh, in the end your reasons don't matter anymore, because you've just picked on the wrong anti-chosen duelist, you traitor!" Honda said and then he turned to his Ghost. "Snake Tailcoat, kill him!"

Right in that moment Blane jumped through the window, breaking it, and before the snakes could bite the victim he slashed all of their heads off with his sword. The headless snake bodies returned into the Ghost's tailcoat and the creature backed down.

"Just who are you and how dare you intervene in my affairs?!" Honda spoke frustrated.

"I am Blane Kaminaga." the swordsman answered and then he turned to the white haired teen so that their eyes met. "And I have come to protect the innocent from creeps like you!"

"Thus speaketh the samurai wannabe with freakish eyes." Honda mocked him.

"I want some answers!" Blane demanded while pointing his sword at him. "Who are you and why are you and your friends attacking the city?"

"I am Honda, the anti-chosen darkness duelist." the ghastly duelist answered with an evil smile on his face.

"Anti-chosen?" the long brown haired teen gasped.

"Yes, I am one of the five anti-chosen duelists. We have been trained to bring down the five chosen duelists, thing which we successfully did in the end."

"The chosen duelists… have been defeated?!"

"Exactly. I was the one who personally took care of my counterpart, Subaru. Boy was he an easy target; I loved the despair in his eyes."

In the next moment Blane grabbed Honda and pushed him against the wall while putting the sword to his neck.

"Where are the chosen duelists? What have you done to them?" he asked in a fit of rage.

"Easy there, buddy, your veins might blow up." Honda mocked him shamelessly. "Your friends are alright, they're trapped in Tigra's underground prison."

"Tigra? Is that the leader of THEM?"

"Why yes she is. She is the one behind these attacks and the kidnapping of the chosen duelists."

"And what are her reasons? Also, where can I find this prison of hers?"

Honda stood silent and simply admired Blane's angry stare which was getting fiercer due to the smile on the white haired teen's face that was growing bigger and bigger with satisfaction. Blane pressed the sword lightly on Honda's neck so that he wouldn't hurt him and then he said:

"I won't ask a third time for an answer."

"Here's your answer." Honda calmly replied.

In the next moment a snake mouth bit Blane's neck and caused him to let go of Honda and put his free hand on his wound. The one that bit him was a snake that belonged to Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction, a Ghost that Honda secretly summoned when Blane immobilized him.

"Haha, did you really think that I'd spill out the hot stuff just because you have a butter knife?" Honda laughed.

"Why you little bastard…" Blane growled and after seeing that the bite did not harm him he aimed his sword at the anti-chosen darkness duelist yet again.

"Say, why don't we resolve our quarrel the classic way?"

Honda took out his glowing deck and showed it to Blane. Batou Shoulder and Snake Tailcoat both turned into black clouds which entered it. Blane put his sword in his sheath and then he took out his deck as well. Two dueling tables rose from the ground and the two players walked at them, put their decks on them, set five cards as their shields, drew five cards and shouted: 'Duel start!' to begin their match.

"I cast Mendelssohn." Blane said and then he revealed the top two cards of his deck which were Choppaya Dragon, Blink Speed and Superspeed Revenge Dragon, both of which landed in his mana zone tapped.

"I cast Ghost Touch." Honda said and then he discarded Bolgress Bazz, Matchless Dragon Machine from Blane's hand. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight."

"I summon Eco Aini." Blane said and the top card of his deck that went to his mana zone was Gaial Axel, and being a Dragon, it made the other top card of his deck go to his mana zone as well, that being Jasmine, Mist Faerie.

"Nice mana accel."

"Why thank you."

"Let's slow it down a bit! I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation!"

A white fat Ghost with four arms and a mouth for a belly appeared by Honda's side.

"As long as Time Tripper is in the battle zone, you are forced to put cards in your mana zone tapped." Honda explained.

"Oh well, just a little hindrance." Blane commented while putting Balga Raiser, the Dragonic Meteor tapped in his mana zone. "I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser!"

A red dragon made of lava appeared behind Blane and roared at Honda.

"Heh, and now it's time to leave you handless!" Honda smirked. "I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll and discard the last card from your hand!"

"Thanks!" Blane replied what a similar smirk.

"What?!"

The last card from the brown haired teen's hand fell into the battle zone and Honda's eyes widened when he saw that it was Eternal Meteor Kaiser.

"Thanks to you I now get to summon this guy earlier! What's the matter? Forgot that when your creatures or spells discard him, Eternal Meteor Kaiser lands in the battle zone? Serves you right for discarding me!"

"How dare you…" Honda growled.

"And now it's my turn!" Blane said and his hand glowed with a bright red aura as he drew his next card and put it in the battle zone. "I summon Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win"!"

A golden dragon that shined with the glory of the rising sun appeared in behind Blane. At its chest it held an orb, one that gave it great power as a command dragon and the creature was also holding two shield-like disks both shaped like arrows and its blue wings were made of electricity.

"Surprised to see my Torch, pal?" Blane mockingly asked.

"Grr… You're going to pay for this!" Honda pathetically threatened.

"Yeah right… Anyway, Eternal Meteor Kaiser makes Torch a speed attacker, so I now attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Superspeed Revenge Dragon while the top card of Honda's deck was Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture.

"Heh, 5 VS 5, I guess it's a tie." Honda argued but then he had the shock of seeing his Bloody Shadow explode. "Huh? But why?"

"Even if it's a tie, the Hardcore Judge effect still activates as long as the opponent doesn't win." Blane replied. "And now we play Hardcore Judge again!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Bolbalzak Ex while the top card of Honda's deck was Falconer, Lightfang Ninja. It was 7 VS 3, so Blane won yet again. Then they played Hardcore Judge one more time and Blane got Balga Raizou, the Super-Heavenly Nova while Honda got Aqua Surfer. It was 9 VS 6, so Blane won for a third time.

"Alright, enough gambling for one day, go Torch, break all of his shields!" Blane ordered and Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" used its shield-like disks to slash all of Honda's shields away.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy Eternal Meteor Kaiser!" Honda said and then a black gate appeared and opened its doors, revealing many purple tentacles that grabbed Blane's blue armored dragon and devoured it. "Then I revive Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!"

"I attack with Magmadragon Balga Reyser!" Blane said and was disappointed to have the top card of his deck a Faerie Life, not a Dragon card, which was sent to the graveyard instead of the battle zone by his creature's effect. "Todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!"

The blue Ghost dressed in a Knight armor and riding a cloud unicorn stood in the way of the lava Dragon and used its spear to protect Honda from the blow even if the creature was destroyed.

"It seems like you're defenseless now." Blane remarked.

"This is not the last you've seen of Honda." his opponent assured.

"Eco Aini, todomeda!"

The green winged parrot like bird flew towards Honda and hit him with its beak causing him to fall on his back defeated.

"Alright pal, now are you going to tell me where my friends are or not?" Blane said and took out his sword approaching his opponent.

In the next moment Snake Tailcoat appeared behind Honda and unleashed a black gas from its hands that blinded Blane. When the gas wore off, the anti-chosen darkness duelist and his cards were gone.

"Rats! He got away!" Blane spat.

"Hey, thanks for saving me!" a young voice resounded behind him.

Blane turned around and saw a dark red haired brown eyed teenage boy dressed in a pale blue T shirt covered by a black jacket and in black pants and brown boots. The boy's hair was spiky and at the back he had a short pony tail.

"What did that bastard want from you?" Blane asked while approaching him.

"Oh, he was angry on me because I was spying him. I was just trying to find out the location of Tigra's new hideout." the boy answered.

"And why would you want to find it?"

"For revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes, you see, I am the former anti-chosen fire duelist from Tigra's team, but when Honda, the guy you just dueled, was recruited, he dueled me and humiliated me in front of everyone. Tigra kicked me out of THEM and I was hunted down by my former allies who tried to kill me. Luckily I managed to fake my death and disappear. But now I want to get even with both Tigra and Honda!"

"I see. Hey dude, do you happen to know why did THEM launch this full attack upon our city?"

"It's not just this city, sir. They are attacking the whole world as we speak. Everything was planned a long time ago. THEM wants to conquer this world as quick as possible."

"Tsh, the generic bad guy attitude." Blane remarked with disgust. "Thanks for the info, kid, I can take over from here. By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Pyro." the boy said and bowed respectfully to him.

"Hey dude, chill, there's no need for all that formal bullshit. By the way, the name's Blane!"

The two shook hands and then Pyro exclaimed:

"You mean the self-proclaimed guardian angel of the chosen duelists?!"

"Why yes, that awesome guy is me!" Blane pointed at himself and his teeth shined.

"I must say, it's an honor to meet you, mister Blane! When I was in THEM, I heard of many heroic acts of yours that made you become one of the top persons that I wished to face along with Tamma the chosen fire duelist and Luna the chosen water duelist." Pyro explained enthusiastically.

"I guess that's cool?"

"Say mister Blane, can I join you? I want to help you save the chosen duelists and teach Tigra some manners!"

"Well, ok, I guess you could come? But just call me Blane from now on, ok? Cut the 'mister' thing, I don't like formalities."

"Alright, Blane!"

At the THEM headquarters, Tigra and Walter were descending even deeper in the basements of the building. They walked down a dark hallway that was lit by a few weak lights and stopped in front of a cell where two muscular guards dressed in THEM robes were sitting with their laser guns in their hands.

"Hail!" the two guards saluted their leader.

"How are my prisoners doing today?" Tigra asked.

The guards walked out of the way and the golden armored girl got a full view of what was going on in the cell. The five chosen duelists were all being bound to the walls with metallic cuffs. Tamma and Luna were on the left wall, Tiger on the front wall, Subaru and Tsugumi on the right wall. Besides Subaru they were all dressed in their swimsuits.

"Open the cell!" Tigra ordered and one of the guards pressed a button that made the laser bars disappear.

The THEM leader stepped inside and looked at each chosen duelist with great interest, as if they were trophies. Tamma seemed pretty built up for a kid, but he was still a kid and that disappointed her. Luna seemed very weak in appearance but the look in her eyes betrayed her intelligence. When it came down to Subaru and Tsugumi, Tigra stared at them with anger.

"Serves you right for refusing my offer back then! See where that got you, huh?!" Tigra spoke to the couple.

"At least… we didn't become your brainless sheep." Tsugumi countered.

"Oh, still having the audacity to talk, eh? I am impressed." Tigra said and grabbed Tsugumi's chin looking into the girl' fierce blue eyes. "A fighter, I like it. If only you were on my side. What a shame that such power has been wasted on the good side."

"You leave her alone!" Subaru demanded.

"Oh my…" Tigra softly spoke while letting go of Tsugumi and heading to the girl's lover. "If it isn't Subaru, the almighty chosen darkness duelist that was defeated epically by my anti-chosen darkness duelist. And you have the audacity to give orders?" Tigra asked and then she punched him in the stomach. "Remember who is the boss around here, worm!" the masked girl said and she punched him once again. "And also, think better before you dare to use my dear Volg Tiger next time."

The leader of THEM then walked away and turned her attention to Tiger. His muscles were perfectly trained, his chest was flat, his belly had its square muscles pumping out, his yellow swimsuit was fitting him, his eyes were predator like and his dark green hat made him look like something out of her deepest fantasies.

"My, my, do we have a hot hunk here!" Tigra said while licking her lips.

"Who? Me?" Tiger asked.

"And modest too! Guards!"

"Yes, Tigra-sama?" the two guards replied in unison while entering the cell.

"Bring this hottie up to my room. He will be… a more special slave."

"And what about the others, Tigra-sama?" one of the guards asked.

"Oh, just let them rot in here, they deserve it." Tigra coldly replied and then she walked out of the cell and reunited with Walter. "Guards, I expect to see that hot Tiger in my room until sunset!"

"As you order, Tigra-sama!" the two guards saluted their master and she left along with her butler.

Meanwhile Honda was running down the main street of the city trying to go as far away from Blane as possible. All of a sudden he hit a person that was dressed in a blue cyber suit and he fell on his back.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Honda shouted and then he looked up to see that the one standing in his way was none other than Deta. "You!"

"Tigra-sama has ordered me to bring you back to the headquarters." Deta said while leaning down and grabbing Honda's left arm. "So let us go back now. Any resistance will be futile."

"Perfect, now it's my chance." Honda thought and smiled evilly, allowing his colleague to guide him back.

After a few minutes the two had crossed two main streets but they were still at a long distance from the THEM base. Deta did not show any emotion whatsoever and simply walked like a robot while pulling Honda with him. Deciding that the moment had come, Honda broke the grave-like silence between them and said:

"Hey Deta, did you know that a few days before we moved our base here I accessed Tigra-sama's personal computer?"

"That act represents high treason and you will be punished accordingly." Deta coldly replied. "But why would you tell me this?"

"There was a folder that caught my attention, and that was a folder that had all the information I needed to know about you!" Honda said with a grin on his face.

Right in that moment Deta stopped from walking and he let go of Honda's arm.

"I know everything, Deta. I know all about how Tigra kidnapped you when you were just four years old, how she killed your parents in front of you and burned your house thus erasing all of your childhood memories, how she held you locked in her labs and made experiments upon you, how she brainwashed you in an attempt of erasing all of your emotions and turning you into a machine like-warrior, basically how she ruined your whole life…" Honda concluded.

"And what importance does it have you knowing all of this?" Deta asked.

"Don't you get it? I can help you, Deta!"

"Help me? What is there to help? I am programmed to obey Tigra-sama, that is all."

"No, Deta, you are not a computer, you are a human being just like me!" Honda insisted while grabbing the anti-chosen water duelist's shoulders. "And just like any other human being, you have a right to be yourself, not be a puppet of Tigra's!"

Deta's arms began to tremble and he pushed Honda away.

"I am Tigra-sama's loyal servant until the end! This is what I am programmed to be, this is why I exist." Deta tried to argue back.

"No, that's what that bitch imposed upon you. You don't really want that, now do you?" Honda asked and Deta's eyes suddenly widened. "Remember that fateful night, Deta! Remember how she took your life away from you and made you suffer! Do you really want to serve someone like her?!"

Many images began to flash into Deta's mind. He saw a burning house, two bleeding dead bodies in the living room, he heard his own cries as he was being kidnapped by a THEM member and he also saw the smirk on Tigra's face. Then he saw a young version of himself being tied to a table and having to endure injections, dissections, attaching of parts from the cyber suit that he was wearing to his skin, films that brainwashed him into believing that Tigra was his God and that he had to do her bidding until the end of his life, and then all the pain that he had felt back then and that was locked deep down inside him during all those years suddenly came back.

Deta cried out as loud as he could and fell on his knees. He ripped the mask off the lower half of his face to reveal his nose, cheeks and mouth and then he breathed hard. Honda offered him a hand and said:

"Don't worry; I'm here to help you."

"And how exactly are you going to help me?" Deta asked with the sadness and anger being easily read in his voice.

"Join me and together we will overthrow Tigra! And once I am in charge, I will let you have your revenge." Honda explained and then Deta grabbed his hand. "I will help you make her pay for everything that she did to you."

Deta's grip of Honda's hand tightened and he looked into him with fierce eyes:

"Alright, I will do whatever you say."

"Excellent! With your knowledge and my plan, we will certainly succeed!" Honda said.

"But how are we going to be able to defeat her? She has an entire organization to back her up while we are just two duelists." Deta brought up.

"They might be an entire organization, but we have this."

Honda reached into his pocket and pulled out the Proof of Duelmaster. Deta stared at the blue gem with amazement.

"And besides that, we've also got a sly plan that I've cooked up in the past months. I'll fill you on the details on the way back home." Honda said while putting his left arm around Deta's neck and having his hand land on Deta's left shoulder.

And so the duo headed back to the THEM headquarters. Thus a new alliance had been formed and a new threat was slowly rising.


	71. Alliance

"Phew, that was close!" Aqua Edo sighed as he jumped inside a trash can to hide.

The Auzesu, Demonic Holy Spirit and Immediate Effect! Hot Springs creatures that were following him had lost his trail. He waited a few minutes until his followers finally decided to forget about him and left. Aqua Edo got out of the trash can, took off the banana peel from his hair and wiped the dust off his blue superhero costume.

"Being a superhero these days is such a tough job. I wonder how the heck Batman deals with it." Aqua Edo complained and then he started moving in circles. "It's been two days, two long days of me running from giant creatures, eating whatever leftovers I could find from the dumpsters and going to the toilet in nature. And even after doing all of these productive and highly important activities, I still couldn't find my friends!" Aqua Edo continued speaking to himself and started punching his head. "Think, Edo, think! Where could that Tigra girl keep Suby, Tsugumi, Tamma, Luna and Tiger captive? She must be hiding them somewhere where even I, the great Aqua Edo, cannot think of! But where?!"

Little did he know that a few steps away from him was the hotel under which the THEM headquarters was located.

"I know, I'll check the mall! Tigra is a girl and girls like shopping. That must be where she's hiding my friends, most definitely!" Aqua Edo deduced. "Oh Edo, you're such a genius! Suby would be proud…"

And so the blue hero rushed out of the alley and headed to the mall. Much was his joy when he saw a row of people walking down the streets.

"Haha, there must be some new promotion at the mall. Capitalism these days…" Aqua Edo spoke to himself but after running a few more miles he noticed that the row was heading backwards to his path. "Wait a minute, something's wrong here."

Aqua Edo stopped and walked to the row of people, addressing a man that had his clothes torn.

"Excuse me sir, but why isn't the row heading to the mall?" Aqua Edo asked.

"Why would we head there? We are being taken to slavery, young man." the man replied.

"Slavery?"

"Yes, we are all going to become the slaves of THEM and will work to do their bidding for the rest of our lives. I suggest that you run away while you still can."

"Maybe they are heading to the THEM headquarters." Aqua Edo thought and then he spoke to the man. "So where exactly are they taking you?"

"Oh, to the Overlook Hotel, that's where THEM has set up their base apparently." the man said while pointing at the end of the row which was at the biggest hotel in town.

"Awesome! Thanks for everything!"

And so Aqua Edo rushed all the way back heading to the hotel. At its entrance three THEM members were supervising the entrance of the enslaved citizens. Upon seeing the hero, they snapped their fingers and made a Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon, Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit and Balga Raizou, the Super-Heavenly Nova appear.

"Oh, so that's why they're all coming here." Aqua Edo said and then he stopped in front of the THEM members. "Good afternoon, everyone, would you mind if I entered this hotel?"

"Not without disarming yourself and surrendering to the New World Order of THEM!" one of the guards said.

"I see. How about I duel you instead?" Aqua Edo replied smiling and took out his deck that glowed with a blue aura.

Meanwhile at the other side of the city Blane and Pyro were heading towards the beach running as fast as they could. There were no signs of creatures or humans so that meant that the coast was clear and they had to take advantage of that.

"Say, where are we supposed to go anyway?" Pyro asked.

"To the UFO of the chosen duelists, this is where my friends reside and it's also the best place for us to take shelter." Blane answered.

"I see. But what are we going to do there since the chosen duelists are missing?" Pyro kept asking.

"I don't know, play bridge or something…" Blane spoke ironically and then he changed his voice to a serious tone. "We're going to use their awesome gadgets and prepare ourselves against THEM!"

"Oh, I thought that the only things of worth from that UFO were their cards and the two Proofs. I didn't know that its gadgets were also worth it."

"Pyro…"

"Yes Blane?"

"Less talking and more action, will you?"

"Understood!"

In the next moment a white teleportation beam descended from the sky and caught them both. Before they could react they disappeared inside the light.

At the THEM headquarters Walter was taking an elevator to the last floor of the hotel. With both his hands he was holding a plate that had a hot full teapot, a cup, a small jar filled with sugar cubes and a pack of napkins. All those items had been requested by his master for a special event. The only thing that was out of ordinary was the napkins because Tigra could never catch a cold due to her immortal genes that she received from her father Zakira. Bing! The elevator had reached the final floor. Walter walked out and wandered the halls searching for the room of his master. He admired the golden paved walls filled with Renaissance paintings, the red fur rugs that were covering the floor, the glowing yellow lights that were shining from the ceiling and the little ancient Greek statues that were sitting in the middle of mini-fountains.

"The Overlook Hotel surely deserves its status of the most successful hotel of this city. Who wouldn't love to live in this kind of luxury?" Walter spoke to himself.

The butler stopped in front of room 1027 and knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" a female voice resounded.

"It's Walter, Tigra-sama!" he answered and in the next moment the door opened automatically.

The insight of Tigra's room was pretentious to say the least. In the middle of it lay a bear fur, to the right a large two person bed with red sheets, pillows and pelt, to the left a huge TV screen and a table on which a remote control was lying, at the left of the entrance door was the bathroom, at the right a wardrobe, beyond the bed there was another table with a laptop that was charging and beyond it there was a glass door that lead to the balcony. The large windows were covered by red curtains. Above it all, on the ceiling hung a ventilator that had four lights. But the thing that caught Walter's attention the most as he walked in was the naked Tiger that had only his hat on and a golden leash on his neck. The chosen nature duelist was covering his privates while sitting on his knees in front of Tigra who was lying on her bed. The leash had a small chain that was tied to a supporting pillar of the room.

"I have brought you what you have requested." Walter said while putting the plate on the table with the remote control. "I guess I will be going now."

"Wait, before you go, tell me Walter, do you like my new pet?" Tigra gesticulated towards Tiger.

"P-Pet?"

"Why of course, he's mommy's little Tiger, isn't he?" Tigra said and then she pulled the chain that forced Tiger to walk to her on all four limbs like an animal so that she could cuddle him. "Isn't that right?"

"This is so embarrassing… I'd rather lose all of my duels in front of everyone instead of enduring this hell." Tiger thought blushing.

"He's such an adorable animal. Anyway, I will let you have fun with your… erm… pet." Walter said and then he bowed to his master and walked out of the room.

"Now my Tiger, it's just the two of us…" Tigra said with a perverted tone in her voice.

"I don't like the sound of this at all." Tiger spoke in his mind.

The leader of THEM pushed the chosen nature duelist making him land on the bear fur on his back. Tigra began to take her armor off bit by bit slowly until she was left only wearing her black mask on her face. It was the first time that Tiger saw a nude woman body and that was making him more and more nervous. He began to sweat hard and his whole face turned red. Tigra approached him with predator-like steps and when she reached him she put both her hands on his chest.

"Say Tiger, did you ever think that you would meet the Tigress of your dreams?" Tigra asked with a sly smile on her face.

"Dreams? This is a nightmare…" Tiger spoke with disgust.

"Tough talk, I like that. Well Tiger, you are about to experience what Kokujo Kyoshiro once experienced with me!" Tigra said and then she sat down, her genitals uniting with his.

"Tsh, I can't believe that Kokujo would have an affair with someone like you." Tiger coldly commented.

"What was that?" Tigra began moving her hips up and down. "I can't hear you!"

It was too late for him to try and escape it; Tigra had begun the sexual act. She moved faster and faster making Tiger lose any rational thought that he had. In the end he simply surrendered himself to the pleasure and laid his head on the bear fur. Tigra kept pushing it and pushing it forcing more pleasure out of it until finally she climaxed. She did not care that Tiger didn't do the same, for she wanted to have more fun with him. The leader of THEM got up from him and searched for something under her bed. When Tiger raised his head to see what was going on, he saw the white haired girl pull out a large metallic bar the length of a normal human height.

"Tell me Tiger, just how deep is your anus?" Tigra asked while licking her lips.

While Tigra was having her perverted adventure with Tiger, at the entrance of the hotel Aqua Edo was dueling the THEM members. Due to the duels the citizens had stopped entering the building and instead preferred to wait and see the outcome.

"I evolve Aqua Intern into Crystal Super Paladin!" Aqua Edo said and then a four armed blue crystal centaur wielding four swords appeared behind him and neighed. "With his effect I send Julia Martina back to your hand. Go, Crystal Super Paladin, break his final shields!"

"Oh no, my blockers!" the THEM member exclaimed as his Syrius, Firmament Elemental and HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga were bounced back to his hand.

The blue centaur rushed at the THEM member and swung its swords to slash off his last two shields. He did not show any signs of shield triggers, so Aqua Edo tapped the other untapped card in his battle zone and said:

"Aqua Naruto Surfer, todomeda!"

The yellow winged shark headed blue humanoid made of water rode on its surfboard towards the THEM member and hit him with it, making him fly away. The crowd of innocent citizens cheered Aqua Edo but then another THEM member came to the dueling table and challenged him to a match.

"Oh, I see you guys want more. Then so be it!" Aqua Edo said and he shuffled his deck once again.

Great was the relief of Blane and Pyro when they saw that the teleportation beam had transported them at the UFO of the chosen duelists. The duo was brought to the control room of the ship at which Nolan and Hanna were sitting on chairs and piloting.

"Guys! Am I glad to see you!" Blane exclaimed.

"Heh, same could be said here, oh ye unsuccessful guardian angel." Hanna responded to his greeting with an irony.

"Hey, it's not my fault that Tiger sent me out for pork when THEM attacked our friends." Blane excused himself.

"Well good to know that you're alive… and up to date with what's been going on." Nolan said and then he turned his attention to the younger teen with dark red hair. "And who is your new friend?"

"He's Pyro, a former member of THEM that got kicked out by Tigra after losing to Honda, the anti-chosen darkness duelist." Blane made the introductions. "I saved his butt right when Honda was preparing to kill him for daring to spy on him. One second late and he would've been toast and…"

"Yeah, we get it; you're an awesome hero, bla, bla, bla…" Hanna interrupted the heroic speech with her bored voice.

"What Blane said was true." Pyro spoke while approaching the pilot duo and making a respectful bow in front of them. "My name is Pyro and I have decided to help you bring my former master Tigra to justice."

"Well Pyro, welcome to the team." Nolan replied. "A team of… what the heck are we anyways?"

"Chosen duelist helpers?" Hanna joked.

"In other words they just tag along with the chosen duelists for whatever reasons." Blane added.

"And what about you, mister hero who can't protect a damn thing?" Nolan asked with a little irritation in his voice.

"Oh, I'm their awesome guardian angel!" Blane pointed at his pumped out chest while revealing his shining teeth.

"Yeah… Anyway, I guess you should know that we set the UFO on invisible mode so that we wouldn't be detected by THEM." Hanna changed the discussion's subject. "We should be fine until Robert recovers and we cook up a plan."

"Wait? You mean Robert is aboard as well?" Blane asked and received two nods from Hanna and Nolan as an answer.

"Did somebody say my name?" a voice came from the corridor.

The quartet turned their attention to the door and they saw a tall teen with a short beard, brown spiky hair and dressed in a short sleeved white T shirt, grey shorts and sandals.

"Well, well, look who finally woke up!" Nolan said.

"Yeah, I sure had the nap. But tell me, what are we doing at the UFO?" Robert asked.

"Let's just say that the 7th of July had passed and Tigra has made her move so we had to take you out of the hospital." Hanna explained and then she rubbed her back with both hands. "You sure are one heavy fellow."

"Hehe, I'm sorry, I didn't expect the doctor to give me so much anesthesia." Robert apologized. "Anyway, who's the kid?"

"Oh, I am Pyro!" the dark red haired teen suddenly burst and bowed to the tall male. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too." Robert replied and then he turned to Nolan and Hanna. "So, what did I miss?"

"Take a seat; it will be a long story." Blane recommended.

Back at the hotel Aqua Edo had managed to defeat the second THEM guardian with ease.

"Aqua Hammer Price, todomeda!" Aqua Edo ordered and the blue humanoid made of water swung its blue hammer and hit the THEM member throwing him away and making the crowd of people cheer even louder. "Why thank you everyone, this hero is grateful for your support!"

"Let us see how much will they support count after I finish you off!" the last THEM guardian said while putting his deck on the table.

"You guys don't learn, do you?" Aqua Edo asked confidently and shuffled his deck for the third time.

Meanwhile at the depths of the hotel's basement Rita entered the prison of THEM. The cowgirl walked down the poor lit hallway until she reached the cell that was guarded by two tall and muscular THEM guards that were holding guns. Rita arranged her cowboy hat, wiped the dust off her dark brown vest and started playing with her ponytail while stopping in front of the two men.

"Well howdy there, cowboys!" she greeted them.

"What business do you have here, Rita-sama?" one of the guards asked, showing respect to her since she ranked higher than him due to her anti-chosen duelist status.

"This little cowgirl would like to talk to the prisoners if ya guys don't mind." Rita explained the motive of her visit.

"Why of course, go ahead, Rita-sama!" the second guard added and the two stepped aside from the bars.

"If ya don't mind, Ah would like to talk to them all by myself." the girl spoke with a more irritated voice.

"Understood, Rita-sama!" both guards exclaimed and walked out of the prison, happy that they could finally get a well deserved break.

Now that it was just her and the chosen duelists, Rita turned off the laser bars and walked inside the prison cell. She noticed that Luna and Tsugumi had fallen asleep while Tamma and Subaru were trying to do the same.

"Are you guys awake?" she asked softly.

"Oh no, it's so easy to get any sleep when you're bound to a wall." Subaru sarcastically said. "What do you want?"

"Ah wanted to check and see if you partners are all ok." Rita said.

"Wait, you're that girl that defeated me!" Tamma exclaimed. "You're Rita the anti-chosen fire duelist!"

"Oh, Tamma!" Rita turned to the child. "Glad to see that you're not hurt after all. Say, you up for another match?"

"Stop making fun of me!" Tamma spoke harshly.

"But Ah ain't making fun of you, little fella. That previous match of ours was so close and Ah was lucky with that Codeking Fortissimo. Ah want to give you back a rematch that you deserve."

"Well, if that's the case…"

"Wait Tamma! It might be another THEM trick…" Subaru cautiously warned.

"Ah understand your position, partner." Rita said while turning back to the black haired teen. "If Ah were in your place, Ah would say the same thing."

"Just what exactly do you want from us?"

"Me? Ah don't want anything from you guys, Ah just want to be sure that you're not hurt or anything."

"And what's with this concern for the health state of your enemies, huh?"

The hate-filled look from Subaru's brown eyes was piercing right through Rita's heart. It was partially her fault that they were there bound to walls and waiting for death to free them. And she had the audacity of coming to them and showing concern for their health. If that was not straight-in-your-face mockery then Rita did not know how they could interpret it. And still, she could not help but feel concerned for them. They were innocent people that were incarcerated just so they would not stand in the way of her master Tigra. Rita felt the injustice that they were going through and all that she wanted was to find a way to make it up to them. But she did not know how and the fear of the chosen duelists' hatred was making things worse for her.

"So, are you going to speak today or not? Why are you so concerned about us?" Subaru repeated his question with more impatience.

"Let's just say… that Ah am the only anti-chosen duelist that still has a conscience." Rita answered while turning to the exit of the cell. "Ah repeat: if there's anything you guys need…"

"Wait, Rita! That was your name, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you try and maybe free us? That would be more than great!" Subaru suggested.

In the next moment Rita turned back, walked to the chosen darkness duelist, tightened her right fist and gave him a punch. But unlike what Subaru and Tamma were expecting, she did not punch him but one of the metal cuffs that were holding him bound to the wall.

"These things are too damn strong for me, partner. The only way Ah could do it is by getting the key and unlocking them." Rita said with a sad voice. "Ah'm sorry…"

"Well why don't you go look for the key then?" Tamma suggested.

Rita turned to Tamma and then she pulled out a deck from her pockets.

"Ah don't know where the key is, little fella, but Ah promise Ah will try and find it." Rita said and then she put the deck into Tamma's swim trunk's pockets. "That's your deck; Ah collected it after beating you. Thought you might want it back."

"Wow… thanks?" Tamma slightly blushed.

"Oh well, Ah better be going…"

"Wait! Before you go I want to know, why are you helping us?" Subaru asked once again.

"Ah told you once, partner, Ah have a conscience unlike my colleagues." Rita explained. "Also, Ah am in this whole business for totally different reasons than them. Hell, Ah didn't even think that we would have to hurt so many people. Ah don't want that and Ah will put a stop to that!"

"I see… In that case: good luck, partner!"

"Thanks, partner! Oh and by the way, what's your name?"

"Me? I am Subaru Geki, the chosen darkness duelist."

"Subaru…"

After uttering that name Rita covered her eyes with her cowboy hat and walked out of the cell, pressing a button upon exiting it that reactivated the laser bars.

Back at the UFO Robert was put up to date with the attacks of THEM, the kidnapping of the chosen duelists, the anti-chosen duelists, the planned enslavement of the whole planet, the New World Order and the presence of Pyro. But only one thing was on his mind and he finally spoke it out while tapping his left foot and crossing his arms like an angry parent.

"Blane, you guardian angel you, why didn't you protect the chosen duelists like you were supposed to?" Robert asked.

"For the last frigging time, Tiger sent me out for some pork and after that THEM attacked! How would I know in what state the chosen duelists were when I was busy fighting for my own life in the damn city?!" Blane shouted, his hair getting messy and his cheeks redder.

"Well you could have always anticipated that they were in danger." Nolan put more salt to the wound.

"Anyway, are we going to do something to stop THEM or are we just going to stand here all day talking about how I failed?!" Blane tried to change the subject.

"Oh, so you do admit failing!" Hanna stuck her tongue out at him.

"This isn't my day…" Blane sighed and lowered his head.

"It seems so." Pyro replied. "Seriously though, shouldn't we come up with a plan to stop THEM before they take over the entire world like Tigra had planned?"

"I concur with him." Robert said. "But for starters we'll have to know where their base is located."

"Oh that's easy, Tigra was planning to move here for the time of the invasion. You're bound to find the THEM headquarters in the basement of one of this city's buildings." Pyro spilled.

"So this means that our friends are still around here somewhere!" Hanna deduced.

"But where exactly? That is the question." Nolan brought up the problem.

"My guess is at the same hotel where she stood in the first week of July." Robert suggested. "The last time we checked there she disappeared without a trace, so she most likely is hiding at its basements."

"Could be, Tigra always loved luxurious places." Pyro affirmed.

"Now all we need to do is to plan a way to get inside there, free the chosen duelists, stop the attacks of THEM, kick Tigra's butt and save the day!" Blane said.

The others nodded to his proposal and thus the planning began. Even without the chosen duelists, they were still strong enough and had the willpower necessary to abolish the fiendish plans of THEM. Thus a new alliance arose, a new quintet of heroes was formed, a new team of fighters for the just cause was ready to fight the evil of Tigra.

Meanwhile at the city's streets Honda and Deta were approaching the hotel which served as the new THEM headquarters. They walked on the sidewalk completely ignoring the humans on the street that were preparing for slavery.

"So this is the plan." Honda concluded. "What do you think?"

"Brilliant! I cannot believe that you could hatch up something so devious!" Deta said.

"It was easy; after all I had six months of training to think it up."

"I see. In that case I will follow every step just like you have told me."

"Do so and everything we have ever wanted will be ours!"

But then the attention of the duo was shifted towards the entrance of the hotel where they saw how a brown haired teen dressed in a blue superhero suit was facing off a THEM member.

"Aqua Intelligence 3rd G attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" Aqua Edo said.

Both duelists revealed the top cards of their decks, Aqua Edo having Aqua Professor while the THEM member having Bolshack Yamato Dragon.

"Heh, 4 VS 6, it seems that I won!" the THEM member said.

"Think again! Aqua Intelligence 3rd G increases the cost of my card in Hardcore Judge by 3! 4+3=7, in other words, it's 7 VS 6!" Aqua Edo said and then all of his opponent's creatures got sent back to his hand except for Fighting Spirit! Sword Flash Dragon. "And since I won Hardcore Judge I send all of your creatures with cost 6 or less back to your hand. Go, Aqua Intelligence, break his final shields! Aqua Librarian, todomeda!"

And so the last THEM member was blown off. The crowd of civilians cheered the blue hero wildly and Aqua Edo looked at them smiling with happiness. Then he made a gesture to the city with his right hand and said:

"People, I, Aqua Edo, have saved you from the clutches of THEM! Now I want you all to return to your homes and rest safely tonight, for I will personally take care of the THEM threat from now on!"

The citizens did as they were told and they all left the hotel, happy that they had managed to escape slavery. Aqua Edo then rubbed his nose and spoke with satisfaction:

"And once again the day is saved by… Aqua Edo! Haha, I always wanted to say that. Anyway, it's time to save Suby and the others!"

And so Aqua Edo rushed into the hotel unaware that Deta and Honda had witnessed his whole act of heroism.

"He might pose a threat to us." Deta commented.

"Nah, he's just an idiot, let him be, he won't get too far." Honda dismissively replied. "Now let's get going, we have a tyrant to overthrow!"

At the last level of the hotel Tigra walked out of her room, satisfaction and pleasure being easily read on her face. She turned to see the tired Tiger that was lying on the bear fur with the large metal stick still up his posterior.

"Hehehe, I hope you enjoyed it, my dear pet, because there will be more where that came from!" Tigra laughed and then she closed the door. "And now to see what my minions are doing today."


	72. Betrayal

Time passed by in the dungeon of THEM and the chosen duelists awaited their fate hoping that somehow a miracle would happen and they would be freed from the clutches of their enemy. As Luna and Tsugumi slept with the hope of the nightmare to be over once they would wake up, Subaru and Tamma were discussing.

"Brother Subaru, do you think we can trust Rita?" Tamma asked.

"At first I had my doubts about her, but that look in her eyes… it was all I needed to see. She will do the right thing, I am sure of it! So yes, I say that she is to be trusted." Subaru answered.

"So is she going to free us?"

"Most certainly. We just need to be patient."

"If you say so… Then what are we going to do once we're outta here?"

"I thought that was an obvious one, Tamma – stop Tigra and put an end to THEM once and for all."

"But isn't that why she locked us here in the first place?"

"Yes it is, and now it isn't only a matter of saving the world, but also a matter of payback!"

Subaru clenched his right fist and Tamma noticed the determination in his fierce brown eyes.

"In that case, I will fight by your side like I always had dreamed!" Tamma affirmed.

"You're starting to sound more and more like Rad-kun." Subaru replied smiling.

"Am I?" Tamma blushed.

"Yes you are. And on that note, I want to confess to you that if we don't make it out of this alive, I am proud to have had you as a partner, Tamma-kun." Subaru said.

Tamma's jaw dropped and in the next moment the boy squealed happily that he even scared the two guards from outside.

A level above them the five anti-chosen duelists had finally reunited with their master in the control room. After receiving a report of Honda's failure in his mission at the UFO, the THEM leader sat on her throne growling angrily. The five duelists surrounding her were all getting worried. A displeased Tigra was certainly the last thing they wanted to see. Rita pulled Wasp away from their master's throne and whispered to him:

"Pst, the boss ain't looking so well. She's as sharp as a needle, partner."

"Wasp knows that. But Wasp wonders why…"

"Maybe it's because we've failed on our mission, partner."

"Hey you two, try to look serious!" Walter intervened.

"Us? What about the boss, butler man? She's more serious than a Grinch!" Rita countered.

"Shut up or I'll punish both of you!" the butler fought back.

In the next moment Tigra turned her angered face at them and the trio stood still and saluted her while sweating.

"Are you beings with mediocre intelligence going to sit there and do nothing productive at all for our mission or are you going to actually help us for once?" Deta asked with a slightly irritated tone in his voice.

Tigra then punched the computer near to her and growled:

"Pieces of junk, you've all proven that you are completely useless!"

"Calm down, Tigra-sama!" Honda begged while kneeling in front of her. "Please remember that we are still in huge advantage. Our troops are conquering every continent as we speak and our enemies, the chosen duelists, are all locked down in our prison. In other words, it is just a matter of time until the world is ours."

"You don't get it, do you Honda? It's not the world that I am concerned of, but the Proof! I want that gem in my hands as quick as possible!" Tigra said while getting up from her chair. "After your utter failure in finding the Proof at the chosen duelist UFO, I should probably punish you accordingly! And by the way, why were you hiding from me these past days?"

"Hiding from you? Forgive me for daring to contradict you, Tigra-sama, but I was not hiding from you in any way, shape or form! While it is true that I did not find the Proof of Duelmaster at the UFO, what I did find was this!" Honda said and then he offered his master a printed map. "This is a map of this city's beach and on the red X is the location where the chosen duelists have buried the Proof to hide it from you. I was merely trying to find digging equipment so that I could bring you the Proof as a reward, but then Deta found me and brought me back here."

"Hmph, well bravo Honda, you've finally done something useful for once." Tigra congratulated him with a bored voice and then she took the map from his hands. "But this time I will be the one who leads the expedition! You can guard this place for all I care."

"As you wish, Tigra-sama."

And so in a matter of minutes Tigra along with Walter, Rita and Wasp took off with her personal limousine rocket leaving both Honda and Deta alone at the THEM headquarters.

"Nice job coming up with that excuse that you wanted to update the computers while she was gone." Honda complimented his accomplice and then he sat on Tigra's throne while looking at the computer screens which showed how the THEM armies of duelists were conquering the world. "And now it is time for us to put our little plan in action."

"So begins our defying and deceiving of Tigra." Deta coldly commented and sat at the main computer pressing its buttons.

Upstairs Aqua Edo was wandering the now emptied hotel trying to find his friends desperately. Little did he know that all the THEM members were either at the basement or spread in town trying to regroup and bring the population once again for enslavement. Luckily since their first attack took enough energy from them, they had to wait a couple of hours until they all fully recovered and were able to summon creatures again. Everything was going towards the blue hero's advantage, all he needed now was to find his friends and free them. But there was no sign of life anywhere. He checked each and every floor with the exception of the last one, opened every room's door, looked in every bathroom, inspected every toilet, and checked every pipe but his friends were nowhere to be found. However what he did find was a pair of woman's underwear that was lying on the floor of room 907. He immediately slammed the door, his head as red as a tomato. Now he had only one floor left. He rushed upstairs but as he reached it his attention was distraught by a gameboy advance that was lying on a golden table.

"Awesome! I didn't know these hotels gave off free gameboy advance!" Aqua Edo exclaimed while picking the device up and turning it on. "Wow, Sonic Advance 3? I'm so playing it!"

Back at Honda and Deta, the duo's plan of taking over the entire THEM organization was going on smoothly. While Deta was trying to hack all the THEM computers around the world using a recent hacking program developed by him, Honda was looking in Tigra's desk trying to desperately find the items that she wanted for her ceremony. He did not know her intentions, but he was sure that it involved power.

"Well, well, look at what I've found!" Honda said after opening the last drawer.

"What is it?" Deta asked and slightly turned his head while typing on two different computer keyboards at once.

"I just hit the jackpot!" Honda exclaimed while admiring the five chosen cards and the multicolored Proof. "Deta, tell me, is there any room or objects that could be used for a ritual somewhere close by?"

"Let me scan the whole building and then I will provide you with an answer." Deta replied and then a third hand came out from the back of his cyber costume which pressed a button at a computer behind him and began the process of scanning the hotel building.

After a few minutes the results finally appeared on the biggest screen.

"There, at the conference hall is what you seek. Two pillars encircled by five stones." Deta said while pointing at the screen.

"Most certainly for the chosen cards and the Proofs." Honda added. "Deta, I want you to call all THEM members from the city inside there! We're gonna have ourselves a coronation."

"A coronation?" Deta raised his eyebrow and then he returned to the two computers he was working on.

"Yes, so that I will establish myself as the new THEM leader once and for all!" Honda said and then he took the five cards and the second Proof out of the drawer. "Oh, and how is the hacking going?"

"Good so far. I have managed to gain access to 43.6% of all THEM computers on the planet. There is still more work to do, but that will never stop me."

"Haha, keep up the good work, Deta, and soon the world will be all ours!"

With those final words being uttered, Honda left Deta alone to resume his computer business.

At the UFO as Nolan, Robert and Hanna were trying to hatch out a plan to enter in the THEM headquarters, Blane and Pyro decided to get their decks out for a little test duel. It was a normal duel played at a normal dueling table, so there were no materialized creatures or shields.

"I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her." Blane said and then the top card of his deck which was Mendelssohn landed in his mana zone tapped.

"I summon Kelp Candle." Pyro said while placing the Water creature card in his battle zone.

"Huh? You use Water? But I thought you were the anti-chosen fire duelist."

"'Were' is the keyword, Blane. Ever since I was kicked out from THEM I have decided to switch over to the Water civilization not only to hide my identity but also to build a better deck!"

"If you say so… Anyway, I summon Eco Aini!" Blane said and the top two cards fell into his mana zone, the first being Superspeed Revenge Dragon and the second Cocco Lupia.

"I summon Qurian and draw a card. Gravity Zero, I summon Paradise Aroma for no cost!" Pyro said and put the two Water creatures in the battle zone.

"Nice field you're building up there Pyro."

"Thank you, Blane."

"Guess I should do the same! I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser!"

"Oh yes, I have seen this creature in action before. I see that you are depending a lot on luck."

"Yes I am, pal, because luck is always on this guardian angel's side!"

"We shall see about that – I summon Pakurio! By its effect you will have to show me that last card from your hand and afterwards I will put it in your shields."

"What?!"

Blane got a disappointed look on his face as he revealed Eternal Meteor Kaiser to Pyro and then he placed it in his shield zone. Next turn he would have reached eight mana and would have summoned the mighty Dragon Hunter, but now his plan was ruined.

"Preventing things is always fun, right?" Pyro asked smiling.

"Whatever." Blane replied sighing and then he drew his next card which was Faerie Life and which he put in his mana zone. "I attack with Magmadragon Balga Geyser and reveal the top card of my deck! If it is a Dragon I'll put it in the battle zone!"

Sadly for him the top card of his deck was an Eco Aini which landed in his graveyard and afterwards Balga Geyser broke one of his opponent's shields. After that he ended.

"I see that luck is not on your favor today?" Pyro remarked.

"Tsh, shut it!" Blane coldly responded to his remark.

"Oh well, I guess it is time for me to have fun – I summon Corile and send Magmadragon Balga Geyser to the top of your deck! Then I gladly end."

Corile was indeed one of the most hated cards in Duel Masters. Not only did it remove a creature from the battle zone, but it also forced its owner to draw that specific removed creature on their next turn, thus hindering them.

"I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser and end." Blane sourly said.

"Alright, it is time for you to see my trump card!" Pyro said excitedly as his hand glowed with a blue aura. "I evolve Kelp Candle into Twilight Sigma, the Super-Electric!"

All of a sudden the image of a giant dark blue robot that had four light blue drills instead of two hands appeared behind Pyro.

"By its effect I return Qurian and Corile to my hand and then I re-summon them! I draw a card and Magmadragon Balga Geyser goes to the top of your deck! I end." Pyro said.

"Tsh… I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser." Blane quickly did his turn, his disappointment being easily read on his face.

If there was one thing that Blane hated with a passion that was losing in a humiliating way. And the way in which Pyro was getting control of the battle zone was indeed humiliating for him.

"I cast Streaming Shaper!" Pyro said and then he revealed his top cards which were Marine Flower, Cyber G Hogan, Astral Reef and Cyber A Irons. "Haha, all are Water and I take them to my hand. Then I summon Marine Flower and evolve it into Astral Reef! Astral Reef lets me draw three cards!"

"Tsh, such field spam… He does have it in him with the Water civilization." Blane thought.

"Go, Twilight Sigma, double break his shields! Qurian, Pakurio, Paradise Aroma, break his final shields!"

In a few seconds Blane ended up with all five cards that represented his shields in his hand. Those were Gaial Axel, Mendelssohn, Cocco Lupia, Superspeed Revenge Dragon and Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win". None were shield triggers.

"Astral Reef, todomeda!" Pyro gave the final blow.

"Heh, good game." Blane congratulated him. "But remember that after all this is over I want a rematch!"

"Sure, I am always up for a game!"

Meanwhile as the trio composed of Robert, Nolan and Hanna were discussing their plan of entering the hotel's basement, Nolan received a call on his cell phone. He reached out for it and took it out of his shorts' pockets. When he opened it the hologram of two THEM members appeared in front of the group of teenagers.

"Oh no, THEM!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Calm down, we don't come with evil thoughts." a female voice resounded from one of the robes.

"Yeah right, as if we'd trust you!" Nolan countered.

"We speak the truth." this time a male voice came out of the other robe.

The two THEM members lowered their heads and took off their masks throwing them away. Then they kept their heads lowered down so that the hoods could cover their faces.

"What do you want from us?" Hanna asked.

"We wish to offer you some valuable information that we believe you seek." the female replied. "Honda the anti-chosen darkness duelist has betrayed Tigra and taken over THEM. At the base there is chaos and confusion between our members."

"We believe that now would be a perfect chance for you guys to attack." the male added.

"Wait a minute!" Nolan spoke loudly but then the call ended. "That guy's voice…"

"What's with it, Nolan?" Robert asked.

"It sounded so familiar. For a moment I thought that it was Shubham talking."

"That's nonsense, Shubham is dead, The Monk killed him." Hanna reminded them.

"Anyway, if this info's true then this could be our chance!" Nolan said.

"But what about Tigra? They said that Honda betrayed her but do we actually know where she is?" Robert brought up. "I suggest that we approach this matter with caution."

"Yes." both Nolan and Hanna nodded.

"But still, if what they said is true, then I say we check each and every corner of the hotel. If there is no defense, then we will attack!" Robert suggested.

"Good, then let's decide upon which areas we begin our attack." Nolan added.

And so with the new piece of information added to their puzzle, they began to draw the final lines to their attack plan that would bring down THEM once and for all. But who were the two mysterious THEM members that spilled them that piece of information remained a mystery.

A yellow fox with two tails jumped upon a metal platform and made it shake. Then the fox span its two tails and flew off it, the platform falling and landing on a metallic circular machine that had a large cockpit. The machine began blowing up and fell at the bottom of the ice tower they were located in. The yellow fox fell after it along with a red echidna that wore white boxing gloves. Once the machine was destroyed it revealed a bald fat man with a huge brown moustache and blue glasses controlling a small flying vehicle and it also revealed a black robot that had a yellow star on its head. The two were filled with burns and they both flew away as the fat man shouted: 'You're going to pay for this!' Then the fox and the echidna rushed towards the exit and both jumped into a golden ring that had a five pointed star in its center. The two characters then appeared running down a hall with the colors of the rainbow and both cheered as the words 'TAILS & KNUCKLES VS BOSS CLEAR!' appeared above them along with a golden medal.

"Yahoo! I finally defeated the Twinkle Snow boss!" Aqua Edo exclaimed happily. "If only Suby saw me now, he'd be so proud of me…"

And then a thought suddenly struck into him like lightning. Subaru! He had forgotten all about his friends and had spent the last two hours playing that game. Aqua Edo quickly paused the game, put it in his costume's pocket and ran down the corridor shouting his friends' names one by one. Finally he received a response from a room.

"Edo, is that you?!" a male voice resounded.

"Tiger?" Aqua Edo spoke and walked to room 1027. "What are you doing in there? This is no time for a vacation when our friends are caught!"

"I'm not on vacation, I'm held captive here, moron!"

"Oh… Well don't worry, for Aqua Edo will get you out of there!"

With the declaration being made, Aqua Edo rushed into the door with his shoulder. It did not work. He rushed once again and the result was the same. He repeated that action for eight more times but with no avail.

"Um, may I suggest something?" Tiger asked.

"Go ahead…" Aqua Edo replied while rubbing his shoulder.

"Why not use this?" the blonde chosen duelist said while throwing a key from under the door.

"I was going to think up that idea." the brown haired hero excused himself and picked up the key.

And so Aqua Edo managed to open the door and get inside. But what awaited him was something that shocked him a lot – a fully naked Tiger with a chained leash on his neck who was using his dark green hat to cover his private area.

"Gosh man, put some clothes on!" Aqua Edo demanded and covered his eyes.

"I would if I had any." Tiger replied. "Anyway, quick, find a way to get this thing off of me and let's go rescue the others!"

"Sure!" Aqua Edo said and then he started searching the room. "Say Tiger, do you happen to know where they are?"

"I'm not sure… What I do know is that she is keeping them in a dark cell with laser bars. But where that cell is… I have no clue. The guards tied my eyes when they pulled me out of there and brought me here."

After fifteen minutes of search Aqua Edo could not find a key, card, remote, anything that could unleash poor Tiger. Without his neck free there was no way out for him.

"Gee, what are we going to do now?" Aqua Edo sighed with disappointment.

"Here!" Tiger said and offered him a plate with a teapot, a cup, some sugar cubes and chocolate biscuits.

"No thanks, I am not hungry right now."

"They're not for you, idiot, they're for Subaru, Tsugumi, Tamma and Luna. They have been locked in that cell for three days with nothing to eat or drink. They must be starving to death. Find them and give this to them!"

"I see. But what about you?"

"Don't worry; I munched a biscuit before you came here. I'll survive."

Aqua Edo looked into Tiger's yellow eyes and nodded. Then he walked to the opened door and said:

"Don't worry Tiger, I promise I'll come back for you!"

"Good luck, Edo…" Tiger thought while watching the hero disappear in the corridor.

Finally Deta's job was finished. All THEM computers around the world had been hacked and he had managed to send the following messages across the whole world: Tigra had fallen, Honda had replaced her and the time for THEM to shine was fast approaching. Sighing, Deta pulled his mask off and looked at his face in the turned off computer screen. Then he clenched his fist and silently spoke for himself:

"Soon, Tigra…"

Meanwhile at the conference hall all of the THEM members from the city were gathered and confusion was reigning over the crowd. They had received the message of their master's fall and the rise of Honda but they did not know what to believe. Rumors started going by that either it was a trick of Tigra's to see who were truly loyal to her or that Honda was orchestrating a prank on them all. None knew what to really believe.

But then all of their doubts scattered as the red curtain in front of them rose and they saw Honda on the giant wooden stage with two pillars on his left and right upon which the two Proofs lied. Also surrounding the pillars were five stones on which there were the five chosen cards: Bolshack Cross NEX, Terradragon Diruga Vejida, Crystal Zweilancer, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Dorballom, Lord of Demons. Honda stared down upon them all with a triumphant look on his face.

"Finally, the day has come…" he thought.

With the air of a leader he raised his right fist in the air and exclaimed:

"I, Honda, will bring about a New World Order, a World ruled by THEM, and you will help me! Nothing is going to stand in my way!"

The crowd of THEM members began to cheer and chant his name in unison. At long last, after a life filled with hardships, he had received what he was longing for – fame, reputation, respect and power. Honda then searched in his pockets and pulled out a small hologram projector thinking:

"And now to see how the little trap that I set up is doing."

Meanwhile on the beach Tigra was walking towards a small hole that was dug in the sand with Walter, Rita and Wasp loyally following her. The girl examined the map and then she spoke to her minions:

"According to the map we are very close to the Proof of Duelmaster."

"Sweet!" Rita exclaimed.

"Wasp is excited!"

"That is great news, Tigra-sama!" Wasp said.

But as they reached the hole that was dug in the sand, the map started shining so powerfully that it blinded Tigra and made her drop it. The paper landed in the hole and once it touched the sand it activated a trap. Suddenly a metallic cage came out of the hole and before they knew it they were all caught in it except for Wasp who was behind them all. When Tigra opened her eyes she saw the metallic cube in which she was trapped and she shouted:

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Don't you like the gift that I left you?" Honda's voice resounded as his hologram appeared in the middle of the cage. "Don't you worry, I'm in charge now."

"Honda you traitor, what are you up to now?!" Tigra yelled at him.

"Let's just say that I won't be simply guarding the base while you are gone."

Wasp started hitting the trap's metallic walls with his fists and yelled:

"Don't leave Wasp all alone! Let Wasp in!"

"We're trying to get out, you idiot!" Rita yelled back at him while hitting the walls as well.

"Hey let us out, why this stupid thing won't open?!" Walter added while punching the walls as hard as he could.

"I demand you to release us right now!" Tigra spoke to the hologram.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, you hag. But I'll gladly take care of your throne." Honda replied with an arrogant smile.

"Grr… you'll pay!" Tigra growled and she punched the hologram making it disappear. "Just wait, I'll make you suffer like you've never suffered before! HONDA!"


	73. Coronation

Deta walked to the conference hall where he could heard bigger noise the more he approached it. Once he reached it he saw an entire group of THEM members kneeling down in front of Honda who was surrounded by the five chosen cards and the two Proofs. The white haired teen pulled out his Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture card, raised it in the air and exclaimed:

"Behold, with this simple act you shall witness the dawn of a New Age - the Age of Honda!"

In the next moment Honda's hand got surrounded by a purple aura and then the five chosen cards rose in the air each shining with the color specific to its civilization: Bolshack Cross NEX – red, Terradragon Diruga Vejida – green, Crystal Zweilancer – blue, Alphadios, Lord of Spirits – yellow, Dorballom, Lord of Demons – purple. Then the two Proofs rose in the air as well and stood at the left and right of Honda's shining hand that was holding the card. All seven items fired beams into the card and then Snake Tailcoat appeared above Honda screaming as it was enveloped by a black aura.

All THEM members were in awe of the display of power but Deta was not. He made his way through the crowd of obedient minions and climbed the stage walking to his accomplice. Honda noticed him and turned his head to him saying:

"I can feel it Deta, I can feel the power of the Duel Masters!"

"Out of curiosity, what does it feel like?" Deta asked.

"Nothing any human can ever imagine, hahaha!" Honda replied.

"I see. In that case I will sit around and wait…"

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for the right moment to deal with Tigra."

"Oh, regarding that…"

Honda let go of the card which was still in the middle of the beams and then he pulled Deta to a corner of the stage where no one could see them to discuss in private.

"What is the reason that you wish to not be heard by the others?" Deta mechanically asked.

"Listen, I know that I am a huge jerk and this is not in my nature… but I wanted to thank you." Honda confessed and made his accomplice raise his eyebrows in confusion. "I know that I am the best, like my T shirt clearly says, and that I could have easily tricked Tigra and taken over this base, but without your help I would never have been able to take over all THEM bases in the entire world and have this whole organization now obey me."

"I only followed the plan as you instructed me."

"Yes, but this is more than obedience!"

"What do you mean?"

"You could have simply betrayed me and revealed my plans to Tigra, but you chose not to. This means that the human inside of you is still there, wishing to be revealed. And to thank that human, I will give you this."

Honda searched both pockets of his black jeans and pulled out a card and a white headband that he offered to Deta. The card was Hydrooze, the Mutant Emperor and the headband had the following words written in red: 'Honda rocks'. The blue haired boy took them both in his hands, looked at them deeply and then he turned to his associate and asked:

"What are these for?"

"Oh nothing big, just a little token of our friendship." Honda explained and then he silently spoke for himself. "I can't believe I just actually said that."

"Friendship? But I was taught that this kind of relationship between two humans is irrelevant and a waste of time and energy." Deta tried to counter.

"That was just Tigra's brainwashing. Friendship is not like that!"

"But how do you know that, Honda? You never had any friends."

"True… But it seems that I have finally found one."

"I do not understand what you are trying to say."

"You helped and supported me so much and you did show me that inside that cold armor there is a nice person. Well now I, the great Honda, wish to have this person… how shall I say… a little closer to the shadows of my ice cold heart? Yeah, that's it. So what do you say?"

"It is hard for me to understand how an emotional bond is formed."

"No Deta, you do not understand it, you feel it, just like you felt your anger towards Tigra back there!"

Suddenly it struck Deta. Back when Honda reminded him of his past his mind was not in a state of analyzing or processing information, but instead it was in a state in which moods such as wrath, sorrow and frustration were making him think less rational. And yet he felt that somehow it was good for him. Now when he was receiving those items from Honda he felt like then but with different moods. No longer was he just processing information, he was also feeling a sudden joy inside, a joy that he had not felt for years. Moreover, he was certain that after so many years of loneliness there was someone that cared for him. He tried to rationalize what was happening but couldn't. The warmth he was feeling inside was taking over whatever rational thought he was trying to conjure. In the end his feet started trembling, he clenched his fists that had the two presents, he let his tears fall and then he suddenly hugged Honda.

"Thank you." Deta murmured.

"Anytime, friend." Honda replied and then he freed himself from the hug. "Say, do you want me to tell you some stories? I know some pretty darn good ones."

"Stories? Do you mean fictional narrated actions?"

"Yes, my ghost stories are by far the scariest there are! We'll have fun, I guarantee you."

"But Honda, what about THEM?"

"Oh don't you worry, there's still time until the ceremony finishes. Until then I say we spend some time together."

Deta nodded and then he and his new friend left the conference hall.

Meanwhile at the UFO that was approaching the THEM hotel steadily and with its invisible shield on, the anti-THEM quintet was preparing for the great battle that was about to come when they received a video call from a concerned Wally.

"What is it now, Wally?" Blane asked bored.

"I have noticed that the UFO is moving towards the Overlook Hotel, aka the THEM base." Wally spoke. "Will somebody care to explain to me why that is so?"

"We're launching an attack upon THEM." Nolan explained.

"Yes, now is the perfect time." Hanna added.

"What? Are you out of your minds? Sure, their attacks have finally ceased but aren't you thinking that they might be planning something?" Wally suggested.

"Let's just say that we received some valuable information that confirmed Hanna's saying." Robert intervened.

"But guys, you're putting your lives in great danger and if you fail then the whole world is doomed!" Wally reasoned.

"The chosen duelists have put their lives in danger many times and they did not care!" Blane brought up.

"Yeah, they were through many hardships and they did not really expect to come out of them alive!" Hanna added.

"And still, they always gave their best and always stuck up for their goals!" Nolan reminded them.

"So in the end, why shouldn't we do the same?" Robert asked and crossed his arms.

"Easy, because you are not the chosen duelists!" Wally answered straight forward.

"No, but we are their friends!" Hanna fought back.

"And we must do what friends have to do – that is rescuing them!" Nolan supported.

"But look at you; you simply don't stick up to the level of the chosen duelists!" Wally criticized. "Hanna is a cute emo girl with a sub-par Zombie Dragon deck, Nolan is a nerdy avenger with a crappy mix of Light, Water and Fire deck for Bolpheus Heaven, Robert is a rich boy who has no idea how to properly use Ballcadeias at its fullest potential, Blane is a gay self-proclaimed guardian angel who uses a crappy Dragon deck and… wait, is that a fifth member in your team of losers?"

"My name is Pyro and I think it's high time I stood up as well!" the dark red haired teen said and then he approached the screen so that Wally saw him better. "I am new to this team of heroes so maybe you are right when you criticized them, but there is one thing that I have noticed at them and that you should take into consideration."

"And what might that be you newbie?" Wally asked.

"These guys, although weaker than the chosen duelists, have one thing in common with them – the desire for a world of peace. Their goal is the same, to overthrow the evil reign of THEM. They have dedicated themselves to this and have prepared intensively for the battle. Will they die fighting? Probably, but that does not matter for them. All that they want is to save their dear friends and aid them in their eternal struggle against evil. And on that note, I am glad to say that I am proud of being part of this team."

"I see… Then all I can wish you guys is good luck. But if you dare to let the chosen duelists die and let the whole world down, I promise your afterlives will be worse than any conceivable hell!"

"Understood!" the five duelists said and they saluted Wally as the conversation ended.

"Guys, look at that!" Hanna said and pointed at the window where they saw the hotel shaking. "There's something fishy happening there!"

"No doubt, we've got to check it immediately." Nolan replied.

At the THEM base there was a powerful earthquake. The power of the chosen cards and of the Proofs was making Snake Tailcoat grow in size in front of all the amazed THEM members. Afraid that they might be attacked by it, they all ran out of the conference hall seeking safety outside of the hotel. During that chaos Deta and Honda walked back and saw what was going on with the new THEM ruler's avatar creature.

"Now is the time! Deta, hurry up and bring me a cape, a scepter and a crown!" Honda demanded.

The blue haired teen nodded to him and ran away. Honda walked into the stage and then he grabbed Snake Tailcoat's card. Feeling the power of the chosen cards and of the Proof in his hands, he began laughing wilder than ever before.

Outside the hotel the UFO of the chosen duelists landed six feet away from its entrance. Robert, Nolan, Hanna, Blane and Pyro walked out and were surprised to see the THEM members running out of the building screaming fearfully.

"Whatever is going on, it doesn't look good at all." Hanna remarked.

"I don't care, let's just rescue Subaru and the others and then kick some THEM ass!" Blane suggested.

Suddenly an explosion came out of the ground and then a giant creature rose out of it. The creature was thirty feet tall, wore a black tailcoat out of which two red snakes that looked like devils were reaching out and hissing. Under the tailcoat it wore dark blue clothes, grey socks and dark blue shoes. Its skull had changed its color from grey to red, its horns had become more curved like those of goats, its nose turned into a sharp horn like that of a rhinoceros and another horn came down from its chin like a small beard. A giant golden chandelier appeared in front of it and its four candles started burning with red fires that resembled those from hell.

"What the hell?!" Blane exclaimed upon seeing the gigantic Ghost.

Snake Tailcoat then opened its right palm and revealed its owner who climbed onto its arm and sat on its right shoulder. Then Deta rose from the hole in the ground using the jets from his shoes and once he reached the level of Honda he offered his friend a purple cape, a golden scepter that was shaped like a Y and a golden crown. Afterwards he flew back into the hotel and let him enjoy his moment of glory. Honda immediately put the purple cape on his back and then Snake Tailcoat opened its other palm and offered him the two Proofs and the five chosen cards. Honda put both gems into his scepter and then the cards began to spin around it. And then the moment he had been waiting for had finally come. One of the snakes grabbed the crown with its mouth and rose in the air so that the last rays of the shining sun could be reflected in it.

"Honda…" Nolan murmured.

"What is that? A crown?" Hanna asked.

"A crown befitting the new ruler of the world!" Honda exclaimed as the snake put it onto his head. "Tigra's time is now over. The reign of King Honda the Great will be a reign of terror!"

All the members of THEM loyally kneeled in front of him and his Ghost while chanting repeatedly: 'Hail King Honda the Great!'

"And now my powerful army it is time for us to claim our destiny! Today we conquer this city, tomorrow the entire planet!" Honda declared. "Now attack!"

Every robed duelist got up from their knees and took out their decks summoning their most powerful creatures. In just a few seconds an entire army of Dragons and Commands had filled the city destroying every sign of life they could find. Honda remained alone in front of the hotel sitting on his Snake Tailcoat and watching the carnage.

Meanwhile Hanna summoned her Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai and invited the boys to sit on its back. Robert refused for he preferred to stay at the UFO and prepare his deck for an eventual duel against Honda. Thus the Zombie Dragon took off only with Hanna, Nolan, Blane and Pyro. Once he saw them approach him, Honda said:

"All of you will bow down before me or face my wrath!"

"Think again, Honda! We'll turn you into dust if we have to, but we're not letting you keep the Proofs and those cards!" Blane declared.

"Such foolish words coming from your mouth. Look at my creature; do you really think you can stand a chance against Snake Tailcoat?" Honda asked.

"Against Snake Tailcoat no, but against you yes!" Nolan said.

"Yeah, your dueling skills haven't changed a bit now that your creature got a repaint and resize!" Pyro added.

"Oh my, if it isn't Pyro the loser." Honda observed. "What's the matter, did the fact that I owned you and had you kicked out of THEM and the fact that I was about to kill you in that alley determine you to join these pathetic buffoons? Come to think of it, you actually fit in this type of team, hahaha!"

"Are you going to babble with that big mouth of yours all day or are you going to face us?" Hanna asked and then all four duelists took out their decks.

"Four against one? How unfair… for you!" Honda said.

Honda took out his deck which got surrounded by a purple aura and multiplied it into four. The two creatures landed on the ground and lowered down so that their masters could get off of them. Afterwards they disappeared and it was just Honda against the four teens.

"What? You are actually going to duel all four of us in the same time?" Hanna asked.

"Yes. What's the matter? Are you too scared?" Honda smirked.

"Oh no, we're just glad that the chances of defeating you are higher than usual!" Blane said.

"Let's do this!" Nolan exclaimed.

Eight dueling tables rose from the ground, four for Honda and one for each of his opponents. The eight tables encircled Honda who stood in the center of the battle.

"Duel start!" they all shouted.

Forty blue shields rose in the air, five for each good guy and twenty for Honda. In their first turns everyone charged mana and ended. Then in his second turn against Hanna Honda charged mana and said:

"I summon Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding!"

A blue Ghost wielding a hammer appeared behind him. Against Nolan he just charged mana and ended. Against Blane he charged mana and put the same Darkness card in his battle zone saying:

"And I summon another Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding!"

Another blue Ghost wielding a hammer appeared behind Honda who charged mana against Pyro and ended his turn.

"I charge mana and end." Hanna said.

"I charge mana and end." Nolan said.

"I charge mana and summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie." Blane said and destroyed the creature to give him another card in his mana zone.

"Such a bad hand… I charge mana and end." Pyro said.

And now Honda's turn came again. Against Hanna he charged mana and showed a Darkness spell card while saying:

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The top two cards of his deck that went into his graveyard were Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic and Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy. Afterwards he placed the spell card in his mana zone and tapped the card in his battle zone saying:

"I attack with Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Hanna's deck was Codename Yabasgil Skill while the top card of Honda's deck was Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint. It was 8 VS 8, so Honda won, Hanna discarded Necrodragon Abayo Shabayo and Buchikudaki Food smashed one of her shields with its hammer.

"I end." Honda said and then he turned to another table.

Against Nolan he charged mana and put a Darkness card in his battle zone while saying:

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction."

A blue Ghost with candles burning on its shoulders and blue snakes coming out of it appeared by his side. Honda then turned to the third table which was against Blane and said:

"I summon Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation! Now you'll have to put cards in your mana zone tapped!"

A fat white ghost that had four arms and a huge mouth for a belly appeared in the battle zone as Honda tapped the other creature card and said:

"I attack with Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Eternal Meteor Kaiser while the top card of Honda's deck was Lost Soul. It was 8 VS 7 so Blane won and didn't have to discard. Then Buchikudaki Food smashed one of his shields with its hammer as well.

"And I guess I'll have to summon a Time Tripper here as well." Honda said and then another fat Ghost appeared by his side against Pyro. "Alright you losers, I end my turn, show me what you've got!"

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Hanna said and then the top two cards of her deck which were Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai and Necrodragon Odol Needle fell in her graveyard.

"I summon Clap, Defender of Hope!" Nolan said and then a golden Fire Bird appeared by his side.

"I cast Faerie Life!" Blane said and the top card of his deck landed in his mana zone.

"I charge mana and end." Pyro sighed.

"Now it's time to show you how to duel!" Honda declared and against Hanna he tapped four mana cards and put a creature in the battle zone. "I summon Noten Drill, Shadow of Perforation and we play Hardcore Judge!"

"What? Hardcore Judge for merely summoning it?!" Hanna asked amazed.

The two players revealed the top cards of their decks. Hanna had Primal Scream while Honda had Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming. It was 4 VS 5, so Honda won.

"And now I'll return Zero Nemesis and Suffocation Cloak back to my hand!" Honda said while picking the two cards from his graveyard. "Buchikudaki Food, attack and we play Hardcore Judge yet again!"

The top card of Hanna's deck was Hades Death Gate while the top card of Honda's deck was Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture. Honda won Hardcore Judge for the third time and then he discarded another card from Hanna's hand which was Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming. Then Buchikudaki Food smashed another one of her shields with its hammer.

"And now it's your turn!" Honda turned to Nolan. "I cast Lost Mind Torture! Reveal your hand to me and I'll discard all spells!"

"WHAT?!" Nolan yelled and then two blue snakes appeared by Honda's side as he revealed the four cards from his hand which were Hyperspatial Energy Hole, Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole, Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and Flame Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon.

"A hand filled mostly with spells? Perfect!"

The snakes bit the three hyperspatial spells and made Nolan discard them.

"Also, Batou Shoulder makes your spells cost one more for each spell in your graveyard so now your spells cost three more!" Honda said and Nolan sweated in fear.

Then Honda turned to Blane, put a card in his mana zone and spoke:

"As for you, I cast Bone Dance Charger!"

The top two cards of his deck which were Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint and a new evolution creature both landed in his graveyard.

"Then I attack with Buchikudaki Food and we play Hardcore Judge again!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Bolbalzak Ex while the top card of Honda's deck was Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation. It was 7 VS 3, so he couldn't win Hardcore Judge against Blane for a second time. However, Buchikudaki Food did gladly break another shield.

Finally Honda turned to Pyro where he simply charged mana and then he tapped the card in his battle zone saying:

"Time Tripper, break his shield! I end."

"I summon Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai and since I have a Zombie Dragon in the battle zone I put the other Necrodragon Haisai Rasshai from my graveyard in the battle zone!" Hanna said.

"I charge mana and break one of your shields with Clap!" Nolan ordered and the Fire Bird flew through one of Honda's shields breaking it.

"I charge mana and summon Superspeed Revenge Dragon!" Blane said and then a red armored dragon with a black cape appeared in the battle zone. "Go, Superspeed Revenge Dragon, destroy Buchikudaki Food!"

"I cast Streaming Shaper!" Pyro said and then he revealed the top four cards of his deck which were Corile, Ezorad, Electro-Fuuma, Cyber T Crown and Cyber N World. "I take them all to my hand!"

Honda's turn came yet again. And this time he would unleash horror upon all of his opponents.

"I evolve Noten Drill into Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic!" Honda said and then a green dinosaur looking ghost with a red cape, two reptilian heads for arms and its main reptilian head with two sharp horns appeared in the battle zone looking like a blue cloud and sending a chilling breeze towards Hanna. "Go, Zero Nemesis, double break her shields and discard a card from her hand!"

The card that Hanna discarded was Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai. Then the Ghost flew through two of her shields shattering them to pieces.

"Buchikudaki Food, break her final shield!" Honda ordered.

The top card of Hanna's deck was Necrodragon Danchigai Fankigai while Honda's was Lost Soul. It was 6 VS 7 so Honda won and Hanna also discarded Necrodragon Devolution as Buchikudaki Food smashed her last shield with its hammer.

"Sh-shield trigger!" Hanna suddenly exclaimed. "I cast Primal Scream!"

The top four cards of her deck went into her graveyard, those being two Necrodragon Guljeneraid, Dragon Bone, Wicked Dragon and Hades Death Gate. Then she returned Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai to her hand.

Honda turned to Nolan, charged mana and summoned a Darkness creature saying:

"I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!"

A blue ghost wielding two scythes and dressed in a black cape that had six burning candles hanging on it and a crown with burning candles above its skull head and with a red crystal in its chest appeared behind him and screamed at his opponent as the top four cards of Honda's deck fell into his graveyard. Those were Terror Pit, Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic, Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding and Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy.

"I return Zero Nemesis to my hand and end here." Honda said and then he turned to Blane. "As for you, I summon Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture!" Honda continued and he also turned to Pyro. "Since I have four creatures in my mana zone, I now summon Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint for the cost of four. Go, Time Tripper, break another shield! I end."

"Grave Galaxy Vortex, I summon Super Necrodragon Hakaishi Hakai!" Hanna said and then a giant horned dragon made of bones which was wielding two swords appeared in the battle zone. "Go, Hakaishi Hakai, destroy Zero Nemesis! Haisai Rasshai, destroy Buchikudaki Food!"

The creatures did as they were ordered and in the next moment Honda's Ghosts were gone.

"I summon Flame Shiva Double Cross, Blastdragon!" Nolan said. "Clap, Defender of Hope, break another shield!"

"I summon Magmadragon Balga Geyser!" Blane said and then a red dragon made of lava appeared behind him. "Superspeed Revenge Dragon, break his shield!"

"I summon Pakurio!" Pyro said and made Honda show him the two cards from his hand which were Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming and Terror Pit. "Alright, Ganaru Scream goes to your shields and I end."

Suddenly Honda got surrounded by a black aura and an evil grin appeared on his face.

"You're finished!" he said while putting a card in the battle zone against Hanna. "I summon Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture! With its effect I evolve it into the Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic from my graveyard!"

"Oh no!" the shield less Hanna exclaimed shocked.

"Zero Nemesis, finish her off, todomeda!" Honda ordered.

The Ghost attacked Hanna and pushed her away, the blue haired girl landing defeated on the street along with her cards.

"Hanna!" Nolan yelled.

"Don't you worry; I promise you'll be joining her!" Honda said and then he revealed Melkomi Tamatama from his hand to him.

"And why are you showing me that card, huh?"

"That is to make what I am about to summon next cost two mana less. I summon Furubokko Grove, Shadow of Flash Hit!"

Then Honda turned to Blane and spoke with a malevolent voice:

"However you'll be joining her sooner than the others!"

"What?" Blane raised his eyebrow.

"I summon Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy! By Filefish Jacket's effect I can now put a Ghost from my graveyard into the battle zone that has the same cost as Suffocation Cloak. And so I put this into the battle zone!" Honda said and then the new evolution creature card from his graveyard flew in the air and landed upon his Suffocation Cloak card shining with a purple aura. "I evolve Suffocation Cloak into Snake Tailcoat, Shadow of Suffering!"

The red Ghost wearing a black tailcoat with two red snakes coming out of it appeared behind Honda with its four candled chandelier, only this time its size was smaller.

"Attack, Snake Tailcoat, and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Blane's deck was Mendelssohn while the top card of Honda's deck was Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction. It was 2 VS 3, so Honda won.

"And now with Snake Tailcoat's effect I destroy Balga Geyser!" Honda said and the Ghost sent out its snakes which bit the Dragon and made it explode. "Double break his shields, Snake Tailcoat!"

Blane took cover as the same snakes went through two of his shields and destroyed them in a matter of seconds.

"Time Tripper, break his final shield!" Honda ordered and the fat ghost rolled like a boulder towards Blane's table, made a jump in the air and flew through his last shield. "It's over for you as well! Filefish Jacket, todomeda!"

Blane was thrown in the air and then he landed on the road near Hanna with his cards.

"Oh no, Blane!" Pyro shouted.

"As for you, I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Honda said and then he watched how Lost Mind Torture and Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding landed in his graveyard. "Melkomi Tamatama, break his shield! I end."

In just one round of turns Honda had managed to get rid of half of his adversaries. It was an obvious proof to Nolan and Pyro that he had become a force to be reckoned with. But still, they had to try their best and defeat that maniac, for the future of the world was at stake.

"My turn, I summon Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier! Go Clap and Flame Shiva Double Cross, break his shields!" Nolan said.

"I summon Corile and send Time Tripper to the top of your deck!" Pyro said. "Pakurio, break his shield!"

Honda stood there surrounded by the shield shards and all he could do was to laugh at their desperate attempts to defeat him.

"Did you honestly think you two had a chance against me?" Honda said while the shield shards united into two cards that were the same and both landed on the two different dueling tables. "Shield trigger, I summon Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy on both sides! Destroy Mil Armor and Corile!"

"No!" both Nolan and Pyro exclaimed.

"And now it's time to finish you – I evolve Ganaru Scream into Snake Tailcoat, Shadow of Suffering!" Honda said and his avatar appeared once again this time against Nolan. "Attack, Snake Tailcoat, and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of Nolan's deck was Intense Vacuuming Twist while the top card of Honda's deck was Terror Pit. It was 4 VS 6 so Honda won and Flame Shiva was devoured by the menacing red snakes.

"Snake Tailcoat, double break his shields! Then Furubokko Grove, double break his shields as well! Batou Shoulder, break his final shield!" Honda ordered and one by one all of Nolan's shields got broken until he had no more. "Suffocation Cloak, todomeda!"

Nolan fell on his back defeated and landed near Hanna and Blane along with his deck.

"Oh no, friends!" Pyro yelled.

"Well, well, Pyro, now it's just you and me." Honda said to him.

"You'll pay for hurting them!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard these lines a thousand times. Though I thought that maybe now when you are using Water you could be a challenge since last time you were clearly out powered. But oh well, I guess I was mistaken. Melkomi Tamatama, break his shield! Suffocation Cloak, break his final shield!"

And so Pyro remained shield less as well in front of the mighty Honda.

"I'm not down yet! I summon Ezdorad, Electro-Fuuma and Kelp Candle!"

"Heh, trying to defend yourself? I'm sorry, but it won't work, not with me anyways…" Honda said and then he showed a Darkness spell card. "I cast Terror Pit and destroy Kelp Candle! Now go, Suffocation Cloak, finish him off!"

"Block the attack Ezdorad!"

"Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint, todomeda!"

And so Pyro was also defeated. Honda stood there laughing victoriously in front of the four fainted teens and then he said:

"Hahaha, see? I told you it was no use going against me! I am the almighty and all-powerful King Honda the Great!"

Meanwhile inside the hotel during the earthquake Aqua Edo was trying to find a place to hide but then a hologram projector had fallen on his head and knocked him unconscious in a room. When he woke up he saw it and thought that it was a child's toy so he began examining it.

"Hm, I wonder what this red button does." Aqua Edo said while pressing.

In the next moment a hologram of Tigra came out of the projector.

"Huh?!" Aqua Edo exclaimed.

"How did you get your hands on that projector?" Tigra asked.

"Oh, this thingy I'm holding right now? It fell on my head a few minutes ago."

"Figures… Anyway, I and my minions are caught in a metallic cage on the beach and the only one that can free us is you by pressing that green button on that same machine you're holding. Please, I will do anything that you ask!"

"And why should I believe you, Tigra? You're the one that kidnapped my friends."

"I will tell you where your friends are!"

"No, I don't trust that you'll tell me the truth."

"Alright, fine, look, I'll give you a cookie if you free us."

"Nope, not trusting you one bit, Tigra."

"Two cookies?"

"DEAL!"

And so Aqua Edo pressed the green button on the projector and the hologram disappeared.

"Alright, where are my cookies?" Aqua Edo asked but received no response. "Aw man, no fair, she duped me!"

At the beach the metallic cage in which Tigra and her two anti-chosen duelists were captured had been destroyed. During the falling of the walls a set of keys had fallen from Tigra's armor onto the sand and Rita snatched them without being noticed. The trio rose from the remains of what used to be their prison and Tigra spoke while looking at the burning city:

"Honda, when I get my hands on you, you will regret for this treason!"


	74. Downfall

Night had installed upon the burning city that was suffering once again from the brutal attacks of the creatures of THEM. People were running for their lives trying to avoid getting crushed by the creatures or the falling buildings. Once again a pre-apocalypse was unleashed upon them. Tigra's personal rocket limousine flew above the tragedies that were happening on the ground. Walter was driving it calm as ever and avoiding the creatures like no tomorrow. Behind him Rita and Wasp sat on a couch and in front of them sat Tigra on another couch enjoying a glass of cocktail and looking at the window.

"Ah, such a sweet sight, don't you agree?" Tigra asked her minions.

"Lots of noise and explosions! Wasp enjoys them a lot!"

"Indeed you do, my darling. What about you, Rita?" Tigra asked.

"Oh, what is it, Tigra-sama?" the cowgirl awoke from her thoughts.

"I was asking if you were enjoying the sight that is outside. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Ah am sorry, Tigra-sama, Ah was a little tired after this whole Honda incident. Yes, outside's a beautiful sight indeed."

"Indeed it is, dear Rita, and it will be only better once I crush that little worm known as Honda and expose him for what a pathetic piece of traitorous feces that he is!"

"Tigra-sama, it is advisable that you calm down." Walter suggested.

"Yes, Wasp is scared by angry Tigra."

"Oh no everyone, when we get back to the headquarters Honda will regret the very day he was born, that is a promise!" Tigra said and clenched her fist. "I will make an example of him so that nobody else will ever dare to betray me again!"

Rita gulped and turned her sight to the window as well. But the red haired girl was not paying attention to the disaster; she was instead thinking of the chosen duelists and was worried about their current state. Knowing Honda, he probably had sacrificed them in front of the others for his own sick pleasure. The single thought of seeing those innocent teens massacred by his cruel Ghosts was giving her heartaches. Sighing, Rita put her right hand in her vest's pocket, held tight onto the keys that were in there and thought:

"Hang in there just a little more, I will try my best to reach you."

At the Overlook Hotel things had calmed down ever since Honda had defeated the four duelists. Deta brought him a throne on which he sat down while holding his scepter and enjoyed the show that his minions and their creatures were putting on.

"Here, the brand new King deserves a drink after his most recent victory." Deta said while offering Honda a glass of lemonade.

"Thank you." Honda replied while taking the glass. "You should get one too."

"Get what? A glass of lemonade?"

"Yes."

"Why so? I am not a King; I am just a mere servant of yours."

"No Deta, you're not just a servant, you're my friend and from this day on you're also King Honda's right hand man! And the King desires to share this moment of victory with his favorite servant!"

"Please, I am not in the mood for hydrating my own body right now."

"This is an order from your King!"

"Very well, Honda-sama."

Deta turned the part of his cybernetic costume that covered his left arm into a gun-like machine and then using a small teleporting system he brought an empty glass from the hotel's kitchen into his right hand. Then a yellow stream of lemon juice shot out of his right arm into the glass. When the glass was full he returned his left arm to normal. Afterwards he turned to Honda and the two knocked their glasses.

"Cheers to the Age of Honda!" the King exclaimed. "May our rule last for all eternity!"

And so with those words being said the two drank from their glasses.

"Excellent beverage, it was very refreshing!" Deta commented. "Honda-sama…"

"Hm, I could get used to being called 'sama'." Honda reflected. "But no Deta, you shall call me Honda from now on, this is another order!"

"Alright, Honda. Would it be a problem if you narrated to me another one of your Ghost stories? I enjoyed those of Datto, Babasare and Shirotabi, but I was wondering if there were any others that you wished to share with me."

"Oh why of course there are more! Have you ever heard of Hanako?"

And so time passed by and the two enjoyed themselves until they saw a rocket limousine approaching. Realizing who was coming Honda sent Deta back inside the hotel and then he got up from the throne and prepared himself for battle. Snake Tailcoat, Shadow of Suffering appeared behind him, its giant stature being highly imposing.

The rocket landed a few feet away from the defeated duelists that were still lying on the ground. Walter got out of it and quickly opened the door for Tigra. The golden armored white haired girl walked out, looked for a few moments at the four duelists and then she turned her attention to Honda.

"Well, well, look who has finally crawled from under her rock." Honda sourly commented.

Tigra laughed slyly while she approached him and his throne.

"What are you laughing at?!" Honda's voice changed to an irritated one.

"I'm laughing at a coward, a gutless wonder, a wimp - whom I trained to be a powerful duelist. But you could never cut it, Honda. No matter how big your creature has become, you're still the same pathetic wannabe!" Tigra criticized him.

"How dare you insult King Honda the Great like that?!"

"Oh yes… you're the king alright. King of fools!"

"Ever noticed how much an insect makes noise buzzing and clacking until you crush it underfoot? That's what you are, Tigra – a bug with a big mouth!"

"We'll see about that when I knock that stupid crown off your head! Power alone is not enough and you simply don't have what it takes, Honda!"

"Spare me your lectures, you know nothing of power!"

"Oh?"

"Do you know what real power is?"

"Get to the point."

"True power is simple determination, making the impossible possible through sheer force of will!" Honda exclaimed and then his right hand got surrounded by a purple aura as he pulled his deck out of his pocket. "I have risked everything in pursuit of this power. I have given myself over to it body and soul. Now witness the power of one who has sacrificed everything!"

"Hah, if you believe that then you're a bigger fool than I've thought!" Tigra replied and took out her own deck as well. "Witness the power of one who risks nothing!"

Two dueling tables rose from the ground. Honda stuck his scepter with the two Proofs and the five cards in the ground and then he walked to his table.

In the meantime Rita and Wasp got out of the limousine and joined Walter into watching the match. Deta also sat behind the entrance doors of the hotel with his arms crossed.

"Duel start!" both shouted and then a set of five shields rose for each.

"I summon Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding." Honda said and then a blue Ghost wielding a hammer appeared behind him.

"I charge mana and end." Tigra said.

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction. Go, Buchikudaki Food, break her shield!"

The two played Hardcore Judge and the top card of Tigra's deck was Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons while the top card of Honda's deck was Lost Soul. It was 6 VS 7 so Honda won and made Tigra discard Jenny, the Dismantling Doll. Afterwards Buchikudaki Food flew towards her, swung its hammer and smashed one of her shields.

"My turn, I summon Deis Melnia, the Aqua Shadow." Tigra said and then an eyeless Ghost made of water with a sharp teethed mouth and a red cape appeared behind her.

"That thing won't stop me! I cast Lost Mind Torture!" Honda said and then two blue snakes appeared behind him and hissed at his opponent.

Tigra growled angrily and then she revealed the cards in her hand which were Hide and Seek, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Emperor Cebu Marco X. The snakes bit the three spell cards and made her discard them. Afterwards Honda tapped one of his cards and said:

"Buchikudaki Food, break another shield!"

Once again they played Hardcore Judge, this time Tigra having Aqua Surfer and Honda having Terror Pit. It was 6 VS 6 so once again Honda won and Tigra discarded her last card while Buchikudaki Food smashed another one of her shields.

"And thanks to Batou Shoulder your spells cost three more to cast due to those three spells from your graveyard! Good luck at trying to cast hyperspatial spells on me now!" Honda mocked her.

"So much power! Wasp is scared of Honda!"

"I agree with you, Tigra-sama is indeed in a really tough situation." Walter commented.

"They're so concerned with their duel. Maybe now's my chance!" Rita thought.

Taking advantage of the fact that Wasp and Walter were concentrated on Tigra's and Honda's duel, Rita slowly and steadily snaked away from the limousine and went into the alley. There she would take the back entrance to the hotel.

"My turn, I summon Gaga Pikarian!" Tigra said and then she drew a card. "Deis Melnia, suicide with Buchikudaki Food!"

The two Ghosts fought each other until an explosion engulfed them both and they disappeared into thin air.

"I summon Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming!" Honda said and then a blue ghost wielding two scythes and dressed in a black cape that had six burning candles hanging on it and a crown with burning candles above its skull head and with a red crystal in its chest appeared behind him and screamed at Tigra.

The top four cards of Honda's deck landed into his graveyard, those being Lost Soul, Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture, Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation and Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy. Honda chose to return Filefish Jacket to his hand and then he ended his turn.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Tigra said and then she revealed the top three cards of her deck which were Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Hyperspatial Vice Hole. "All are Darkness and all go to my hand!"

"Yeah, too bad that two of them are of no use to you!" Honda kept mocking. "Anyway I summon Filefish Jacket, Shadow of Torture!"

"No, they won't, but this will!" Tigra said while placing Hyperspatial Vice Hole in her mana zone. "Evolution! Cebu Aquman Jr, become Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons!"

A black alien demon with three mouths, two instead of hands and one instead of chest appeared behind Tigra and roared at Honda loudly.

"By its effect I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!" Tigra said and then the red wolf demon wielding a blue sword materialized as well and howled. "By its effect I choose to mill your deck!"

The cards of Honda's deck which landed in his graveyard were Melkomi Tamatama, Shadow of Restraint, Bone Dance Charger and Zero Nemesis, Shadow of Panic.

"Oh, you've finally decided to pull out some biggies? Well sorry to inform you Tigra, but I am not letting you keep them for long!" Honda said while putting a Darkness card in the battle zone. "I summon Furubokko Grove, Shadow of Flash Hit. With Filefish Jacket's effect I put Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy in the battle zone and destroy Gaga Pikarian!"

Tigra's Light Cyber Lord exploded not far from her and the girl took cover. Honda laughed wildly and then he spoke to her:

"Give up now and I promise your end will be merciful!"

"Never!" Tigra firmly replied.

"Face it; you're no match for my power! The Proofs and the chosen cards have given my deck immense strength and soon I will multiply it a hundred times when I add more civilizations to it!" Honda affirmed.

"Then I suppose you will be a hundred times the fool that you are now. I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone. Thunder Tiger's effect destroys Batou Shoulder!"

A black demonic tiger jumped out of nowhere and devoured Honda's blue Ghost with candles on its shoulders.

Meanwhile Rita managed to sneak in the hotel but once she set foot inside she clashed with a stranger and both landed on the floor seeing flying birds and spinning stars. When she managed to get up she saw that she had knocked with a brown haired teenage boy dressed in a red caped dark blue tight jumpsuit that had a white circle on with the blue sign of a semicircular wave and a black headband with two holes covering his eyes.

"Hey, who the hell are ya and what are ya doin' in this place?" Rita demanded an answer.

"I am Aqua Edo and I have come to save the day! And who are you?" the boy asked.

"Huh? Aqua Edo?"

"No, that's me. You can't be me because I am me. So who are you?"

"The name's Rita. Anyway, are ya by any chance a chosen duelist?"

"Chosen duelist? Why of course, I am the chosen water duelist, though I am sharing this title with Luna."

"Perfect! Say Edo…"

"Aqua Edo!" he corrected her.

"Whatever. Say, did you come here because you want to save your friends?" Rita asked.

"Of course, I have come here to save the lives of my dear endangered friends and then I will bring the evil Tigra and her organization THEM to justice!" Aqua Edo said while taking a heroic pose.

"Then how about Ah help you, partner?"

In the next moment Rita pulled out a set of keys from her vest's pocket which she offered to the blue hero.

"Here, take these." Rita said.

"What's with them?" Aqua Edo asked while looking at the keys.

"They're the keys that you'll need to unlock your friends. Tigra has locked them in her prison underground. You must take the elevator to the basement and then walk down the corridor to the nearest stairs. There you will have to go down one more level and then you'll find the prison. Their cell is the very last one on the right. Be careful, two guards are there and you'll have to face them in order to free your friends. Do you think you're capable of doing it, partner?"

"Sure!" Edo nodded and then he ran in the opposite direction of the elevator.

"Wait! Come back, the elevator's the other way!"

"Oh…"

But when Aqua Edo returned to Rita, two THEM members that did not wear masks but had their faces covered by their robes' hoods appeared to them.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a male voice resounded.

"It seems like someone here is planning on betraying Tigra-sama, isn't she?" a female voice added.

Back at the duel outside, Honda's hand began to glow with a purple aura as he drew his next card and placed it on his table saying:

"This duel has dragged on long enough, Tigra. Prepare to be destroyed! I evolve Ganaru Scream into Snake Tailcoat, Shadow of Suffering!"

The blue Ghost wielding two scythes got surrounded by a black aura and evolved into a red Ghost wearing a black tailcoat with two red snakes coming out of it appeared behind Honda with its four candled chandelier.

"And now to finish you once and for all! Snake Tailcoat, attack!" Honda said and then they played Hardcore Judge, the top card of Tigra's deck being Jenny, the Dismantling Doll while the top card of Honda's deck being Ganaru Scream, Shadow of Screaming. "4 VS 5, I win! Snake Tailcoat, destroy Cebu Algol and double break her shields!"

The two red snakes grabbed Tigra's Alien and devoured it, and afterwards they both went through her shields breaking two of them to pieces. The shield shards united into two cards that went into her hand and then she showed one of them to her opponent saying:

"Shield trigger, I summon Aqua Surfer, send Furubokko Grove back to his hand!"

"Filefish Jacket, break her final shield!" Honda ordered.

The Ghost's attack was so powerful that when it broke Tigra's last shield the shield shards hit her and pushed her away from the table. The white haired girl dropped the cards from her hand on the table once she fell. When the attack was over Tigra was lying on the ground on her belly and Honda was standing there with his arms crossed ready to give her the final blow.

"Thus endeth the reign of 'mighty' Tigra!" Honda declared.

"Me… lose?" Tigra thought and then she turned her head up to witness her victorious opponent and the arrogant grin on his face. "Will I lose… to the likes of Honda? Me, the daughter of Zakira? Here I am… shamefully crawling on the ground. Unforgivable…"

In the next moment Tigra gathered up all her strength and forced herself to get up.

"So… the worm still crawls." Honda remarked.

"Unforgivable, Honda!" Tigra declared while slowly walking back to her dueling table.

"'Unforgivable'? So what are you going to do about it?"

"This humiliation… only your death will clear it away! I could never rest if I had lost to a weakling like you!"

"Nice words, maybe I will put them on your tombstone." Honda said and then he tapped the last untapped card on his table. "Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy, todomeda!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja!" Tigra replied to the attack by showing the mentioned Light card. "Falconer, block Suffocation Cloak!"

The two cards bounced off their owners' tables and landed in their respective graveyards.

"You wanted to risk everything? So be it – Psychic Link, arise my beautiful Volg Tiger!"

A two headed purple winged demonic tiger wielding a sharp purple katana appeared by Tigra's side, its roar tearing through the dead of night.

"I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and return Falconer to my hand. Then I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone and mill your deck!" Tigra said and after the red demonic wolf appeared in the battle zone she pointed at Honda's deck.

One by one the cards from his deck fell into the graveyard until there were two creatures. The cards were Terror Pit, Suffocation Cloak, Shadow of Atrophy, Bone Dance Charger and Buchikudaki Food, Shadow of Grinding.

"Volg Tiger, attack Snake Tailcoat and discard the last card from his hand!" Tigra ordered and made Honda discard Furubokko Grove. "By Volg Tiger's effect I revive Cebu Algol and put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone! Now go Volg Tiger, destroy Snake Tailcoat!"

The demon attacked the ghost with its sword and Snake Tailcoat tried to defend itself with the snakes but their heads were immediately cut off by Volg Tiger. Then the demonic tiger swung its sword and thrust it into the ghost's chest making it scream in pain and disappear right before Honda's shocked eyes.

"Then Zabi Implosion, destroy Filefish Jacket! I end my turn and awaken Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit." Tigra concluded.

"Grr, you will not take away my future, I won't let you!" Honda exclaimed and then he showed a Darkness spell card to her. "I cast Terror Pit and destroy Cheuxvelt!"

Two demonic hands grabbed the angelic demon and crushed it into bits. But then one of Honda's shields got broken as well due to the fact that he had cast a spell while Cheuxvelt was in the battle zone.

"Oh, we will see about that, Honda! Zabi Implosion, double break his shields!" Tigra ordered and the black demon fired lasers from all of its three mouths and took down two of her opponent's shields. "Volg Thunder, break his final shields!"

The red demonic wolf rushed at Honda and swung its sword which slashed off two more of his shields. That was it; Honda was shield less, did not get any shield trigger and was basically defenseless in front of Tigra. He looked at her with the anger of a child that had just been beaten by its abusive parent and then he growled.

"You should have stayed loyal to me, Honda. I have given you everything and since you chose to disobey me, I will now take everything away from you! Good bye and good riddance – Volg Tiger, finish him off, todomeda!" Tigra ordered.

The demonic tiger flew towards Honda who fearfully uttered the following words:

"Tigra… I… you… you…"

What followed next was the slash of Volg Tiger's sword. When the attack ended there was no sign of Honda anywhere to be found. With the duel being over, Tigra looked at the opposing dueling table and whispered:

"Heh, had it not been for that Falconer, it would have been your win, Honda. But somehow fate wanted me to emerge victorious. However, that was a splendid duel and for that you have my respect."

"Tigra-sama!" both Walter and Wasp shouted and ran to her.

"There is nothing that can stop me now!" Tigra spoke to her minions while picking up Honda's scepter that had the two Proofs and the five chosen cards spinning around it. "The world… no… everything will be mine!"

Inside the hotel, Rita and Aqua Edo were facing the two mysterious THEM members that had just caught them discussing of a plan to rescue the chosen duelists.

"Please do not tell big boss Tigra about this! Ah beg of you!" Rita implored.

"Yeah, please be some nice bad guys, if those exist, and just pretend you didn't hear anything!" Edo added.

"Don't you worry, your secret will be well kept under us." the male replied.

"Huh?" both Rita and Aqua Edo reacted.

"You see, we are not actually THEM members." the female intervened. "We are working undercover to overthrow Tigra as well."

"If you think that the chosen duelists can help defeat her, then we will gladly help you!" the male added.

"Ok, but who exactly are you fellas?" Rita asked.

"We cannot reveal our secret identities to you, but you may call me Black Widow!" the female said.

"And you should remember me as Raven!" the male added.

"Okay?" the anti-chosen fire duelist spoke not impressed of the duo of conspirators.

"Listen, we are going to take Aqua Edo to the prison and help him defeat the guards. In the meantime, you go back to Tigra and try to stall for time as much as possible!" Black Widow advised.

"Sounds like a plan!" Rita nodded and then she ran away. "Good luck guys, and be careful Edo!"

"It's Aqua Edo!" he corrected her once again.

"Alright, then let's get going!" Raven suggested and the trio entered the elevator.

"Cool, I like it when I get new allies! Say, how much do these robes cost? I would love to wear one on Halloween!" Aqua Edo started babbling.

"This is going to be one long ride…" Black Widow sighed.

And so the elevator's door closed and it descended to the basement. With two new mysterious allies on his side, Aqua Edo was more than ready to rescue his friends. But how would they be able to withstand that force of Tigra that now possessed both Proofs and all chosen cards was still unknown.


	75. Human

Inside the hotel at room 616 a wounded Honda was lying on the bed with his golden crown and purple cape on. He opened his tired yellow eyes and looked around. Then he remembered his loss against Tigra and the attack of Volg Tiger that should have killed him but somehow it didn't.

"I still live… Is this the end of King Honda the Great? Victory was so close, in my hands… But she stole it from me…" Honda said and then the image of the triumphant Tigra appeared in his mind and caused him to clench his fist in anger. "I won't let her."

In the next moment Honda's fist got surrounded by a purple aura and he yelled as he got up from the bed:

"I am King Honda the Great! While my heart still beats I will never give up!"

The door opened and Deta walked in the room with a medical kit in his hands.

"It seems that the patient is finally awake." the anti-chosen water duelist remarked.

"Deta? Did you rescue me?" Honda uttered.

"Yes, when Volg Tiger was about to finish you I used my teleporting system to transport you here. However due to the shock you fainted and I let you rest here on the bed."

"I see. What about Tigra?"

"She has taken your scepter and reclaimed leadership of THEM. It seems that our plan has failed."

"No it hasn't yet, Deta!"

"What do you mean?"

"If I must, I will split the Earth in half, but I will never let that arrogant fool Tigra have what is rightfully mine!"

"Honda, your body is too weakened; you are in no shape to duel her again."

"I don't care; I won't let her keep that power!"

Honda was about to get up and leave but Deta walked to him and punched him powerfully in the stomach knocking him unconscious on the bed. Then the water duelist let the medical kit near him and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

"Computer, I want you to locate Tigra." Deta spoke to his mechanical suit.

"Scanning building… Searching… Progress completed. Tigra is at the reception at the first floor." a robotic voice spoke from Deta's suit.

Meanwhile at Aqua Edo and his two new allies, the trio had reached the basement of the building and was walking down the main corridor looking for the stairs that would lead them to the THEM prison. But for Raven and Black Widow the journey seemed endless due to Aqua Edo's continuous and nonsensical babbling.

"I'm not sure if I like pears though because they're green and if a fruit is green it's usually rotten and if it's rotten then it's bad for you. Also, I never really did like the color green since it kept reminding me of a girl, a former teammate of mine who was so strongly obsessed with this thing called yaoi, you know yaoi, gay manga and anime, it's totally sick. And she was forcing me to star in her horrible mangas and…"

"I can't take him anymore, hun!" Black Widow whispered to her partner.

"Just endure him a little more, we'll find the chosen duelists soon." Raven assured her.

Finally they found on the right a set of stairs that was going downwards. The trio rushed all the way until they reached the semi-closed doors that lead darkened hall of the THEM prison. If it were not for the little lights that were faintly glowing from the ceiling, they would not see anything. However they did notice at the very end of the hall two muscular guards each wielding a laser gun.

"Alright, we need to think of a way to distract them." Raven suggested.

Accidentally Aqua Edo pressed the doors and opened them falling inside the hall. Raven and Black Widow quickly hid in the darkness as the two guards rushed at the foolish boy.

"Who dares to enter the prison of THEM without permission?" one of the guards asked while pointing the gun to the teen's forehead.

"Hehehe, hello to you too?" Aqua Edo laughed while sweating.

Suddenly Raven and Black Widow appeared out of the shadows and took the guns away from the guards' grips. The duo threw them away and then the girl spoke to them:

"Instead of using those bad toys why don't you play with these?"

The two robed duelists pulled out their shining decks and the guards did the same as response. Four dueling tables rose from the floor and they walked to each. In the meantime Aqua Edo got up and sneaked behind them all running down the hall and looking for the cell in which his friends were caught.

Upstairs at the hotel's reception Walter and Wasp stood kneeling in front of Tigra who was admiring her recent prize – the Y shaped golden staff that had the two Proofs on and the five chosen cards spinning around it.

"Hahaha, with this newly acquired power nothing can stop me! The power of the Duel Masters now lies in my hands!" Tigra laughed.

"Indeed it does, Tigra-sama!" Wasp intervened. "May I suggest that we begin the ceremony now that you have everything that is required?"

"Just a moment Walter, I wish to admire this great power a little more before I proceed to deal with this matter." the THEM leader said while looking deeply at the scepter. "It's so glorious; never in my life did I see such a great force! No wonder daddy wanted the Proof so badly…"

But little did Tigra know that just around the corner Deta was sitting there with his left arm turned into a deadly laser gun ready to attack. The blue haired boy closed his eyes and pictured the girl killing his parents, burning his house down as her minions abducted him, and then he pictured the laboratories in which he was experimented upon, all the pain and suffering he had to endure, those countless brainwashing processes, all to turn him into her weapon. And then Honda's words resounded in his mind:

_"No, Deta, you are not a computer, you are a human being just like me!" Honda insisted while grabbing the anti-chosen water duelist's shoulders. "And just like any other human being, you have a right to be yourself, not be a puppet of Tigra's!"_

_"Remember that fateful night, Deta! Remember how she took your life away from you and made you suffer! Do you really want to serve someone like her?!"_

In the next moment Deta opened his green eyes, they not being cold and emotionless anymore but instead being filled with anger and desire for revenge. The boy ran from his corner and before any of the three persons standing at the reception could notice him he fired a powerful laser beam from that gun which aimed directly at Tigra's head.

Tigra quickly hit the floor with the staff and used the power of the Proofs to create a protective golden aura which dissolved the laser beam.

"Well, well, if it isn't Deta. What happened? Did you decide to betray me and follow Honda's steps?" Tigra ironically asked.

"Negative. I am here to do what I should have done a long time ago!" Deta said and then he pointed the gun at Tigra once again.

"Oh really? That is clearly not what I have programmed you for, Deta."

"No, it is not, but sometimes even machines can decide to take over and reprogram themselves!"

"It is so sad that I have yet another traitor to take care of. But oh well, I guess this is part of being an upcoming evil tyrant." Tigra said and then she took out her glowing deck. "You can stop firing that peashooter; it won't work against my defense aura."

"Then there are other means of breaking down a barrier." Deta replied while taking out his deck as well.

"Prepare to face my wrath, you traitor!"

Two dueling tables arose from the floor and Tigra made her aura disappear. The two duelists walked to them and set their cards while Walter and Wasp hid behind a couch for they knew that their showdown would be one of epic proportions just like the one before.

Back at the basement, the duels between the two guards and the two THEM traitors had begun.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Raven said and then a dark version of the black haired Duel Hero appeared in the battle zone, this Atsuto wearing a black suit with a red shirt, his eyes and the rose he was holding being blood red.

"Let's see how I can devastatingly help you today!" the dark Atsuto said while drawing two cards which he offered to Raven and then discarding Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser and Bolshack Gil Cross NEX from his hand.

"Using Dragons and Aliens? Interesting combination, but weak in comparison to what I will unleash upon you!" the guard said and then he showed a Nature card which he tossed in the graveyard. "I summon Jasmine, Mist Faerie and destroy her to gain another card in my mana zone."

"We shall see… I cast Brain Storm!"

Raven drew three cards from his deck and then he selected two cards from his hand which he put back at the top of his deck.

"I summon Silver Shovel! By its effect I send both Silver Shovel and Atsuto to our mana zones!" the guard said and then both of their creatures got surrounded by green auras and disappeared, their cards bouncing off their battle zones and landing in their mana zones.

"Tsh… I summon Dragon Flare Egg!" Raven said and then an orange egg appeared by his side and floated in the air.

"Hah, as if that thing can help you! I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and return Jasmine to my hand, and then I put Rumble, Temporal Sage in the battle zone!"

Meanwhile at Black Widow's duel.

"I summon Maxval, Electro-Fuuma." the girl said.

"I summon Aqua Super Emeral." the guard said and then he replaced one of his shields with a card from his hand.

"I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast."

A two headed lion that had its left side skeletal and its mane black, and its right side was blue and its mane was white appeared in the battle zone and roared at the guard.

"I cast Energy Stream." the guard said and drew two cards. "I end."

"Why is not he attacking? He must be up to something most certainly with that big hand!" Black Widow thought and then she spoke to her opponent. "I summon Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit!"

A dark green angelic demon with a red eye in its chest and a sharp sword in one of its hands appeared.

"I charge mana and end my turn." the guard said.

"What could he be up to? Why not summon something or do anything other than charging mana?" Black Widow asked herself and then she began her turn. "I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top three cards of her deck were Yuppal, Binding Guardian, Heaven's Double Tail and Dying Message, Friction of Heaven Freezing. All were Light and all went to her hand.

"I charge mana and end." the guard repeated the same move.

"Alright, this guy is becoming annoying!" Black Widow thought and then she put one of the cards that she received in the battle zone. "I summon Dying Message, Friction of Heaven Freezing and tap Aqua Super Emeral! Ashliger, destroy Aqua Super Emeral!"

"I charge mana and end." the guard made yet the same move much to her annoyance.

"Alright buddy, I've had enough of you for one day!" she spoke straight forward. "I summon Deepsea Dober and attack with Auzesu, double break his shields!"

The demonic angel swung its sword and used it to slash off two of the guard's shields.

"Dying Message, double break his shields!" she continued and the light demon flew towards him and used its pairs of swords to take down two more of his shields. "Ashliger, break his final shield!"

The two headed lion roared and ran towards the guard jumping in the air and using its claws to slash off his final shield.

"Thanks for breaking my Super Emeral shield!" the guard suddenly spoke and then he showed a multicolored card that belonged to the Light, Darkness and Nature civilizations. "Shield trigger, I summon Hundred Eyes, Secret Spirit Treasure! By its effect I discard my entire hand!"

"Are you crazy?!" Black Widow exclaimed upon seeing the guard toss all nine cards from his hand in the air.

However out of those cards only three landed in the graveyard and the other six landed in the battle zone. The cards that went to the graveyard were Antoinette, Beautiful Battle Dragon Princess, Aqua Super Emeral and Energy Stream. The cards that landed in the battle zone were Baiken, Blue Dragon of the Hidden Blade, Psychen Pippi, Super Psychen Pippi, Sanfist, the Savage Vizier, Terradragon Arque Delarcena and Zack Pichi, Winged Dragon Admiral.

"Hahaha, with Baiken's effect I send Deepsea Dober back to your hand! Also with the effects of both my Psychen Pippis I put two Gaial Kaisers in the battle zone!" the guard said and suddenly his battle zone got filled with creatures.

"My goodness!" Black Widow exclaimed shocked. "So many creatures…"

"And they're all here thanks to your reckless attacking. Now let me return you the favor – Gaial Kaiser, double break her shields!" the guard ordered and the red armored dragon flew towards her and used its orange swords to slash off two of her shields. "My other Gaial Kaiser, break two more shields!" the guard gave another order and the other Gaial Kaiser did the same move as the first one. "Hundred Eyes break her final shield!"

Black Widow stood there surrounded by shield shards awaiting her fate. But then she saw a bright light coming out from one of the cards that had been recently formed from the broken shield shards. She took it to her hand and a smile of happiness came to her face.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark!" she shouted. "Tap all of his creatures!"

"No, this can't be!" the guard exclaimed.

"You're finished, buddy – Auzesu, todomeda!"

The angelic demon fired a laser from the eye in its chest which threw away the guard.

"As for me… I now use the effect of Dragon Flare Egg!" Raven said and then the top card of his deck fell into the graveyard revealing itself as Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser. "Perfect, I destroy Dragon Flare Egg and put Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser in the battle zone! And do you know what the best part is?"

"No, what is it?" the guard asked.

"Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser allows me to revive one of my Aliens at the start of my turn! So I use its effect to revive another Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser! And with its effect I also revive Bolshack Gil Cross NEX!"

"Oh no, now I won't be able to put psychic creatures in the battle zone!"

"That will be the least of your worries for I now summon Alien Father! Alien Father makes all of my other Aliens slayers and speed attackers! Go Bolshack Gil Cross NEX, triple break his shields!"

The eyeless red horned dragon with sharp teeth and snake tongue flew towards the guard and used its flaming sword with black spikes to slash off three of his shields.

"Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser, break his final shields!" Raven ordered and the black dragon that was shaped like a fish flew through the guard's last shield. "I hope you enjoy your stay in hell… Hell MISSOKATSU Kaiser, todomeda!"

And so the second guardian was defeated as well.

Meanwhile Aqua Edo had finally managed to find the cell in which the chosen duelists were kept locked. Great was his joy when he saw his friends after being worried for them for so long.

"Guys, it's me, I've come to save you!" Aqua Edo shouted and woke all four up.

"That's weird, for a moment I thought I had heard Edo-san speak…" Tsugumi said.

"Guys, I'm here!" Aqua Edo insisted and the four turned their heads and saw him beyond the laser bars.

"Edo!" they all chanted happily.

"I just knew that you would come, Edo-kun!" Subaru said.

"Woo hoo, Edo to the rescue!" Tamma exclaimed.

"Thank rational cognition, we will finally be rescued!" Luna added.

"Now just wait a second while I figure out how this thing-a-majig works." Aqua Edo said while looking at the computer near the cell for a few moments without comprehending a thing of what roles did its buttons have. "Whatever, I'll just press the red button and go with it."

Luckily for them all that button deactivated the laser bars. The chosen duelists cheered and Aqua Edo entered the cell while taking the keys out of his pocket.

Upstairs the duel between Deta and Tigra had begun with Walter and Wasp as spectators.

"I summon Tron." Deta said.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide doll and destroy her." Tigra said and made Deta discard Emperor Maribel.

"I evolve Tron into Emperor Basiccun! I attack with Emperor Basiccun and use its meteorburn to return Tron to my hand!" Deta said and then he revealed the top card of his deck which was Emeral and which went under Emperor Basiccun. "Now break her shield!"

"Shield trigger, I cast Ghost Touch." Tigra said and then she discarded Cutie Heart from Deta's hand. "My turn, I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

"I summon Qurian and draw a card. Emperor Basiccun, attack and activate meteorburn!" Deta said while sending the Emeral under it to his hand and replacing the card with the Lucky Ball from the top of his deck. "Break another shield!"

"Tsh, I cast Hide and Seek!"

A blue water hand appeared and grabbed Emperor Basiccun making it disappear and sending the two cards to Deta's hand. Then a purple cloud hand appeared and discarded Emeral from his hand.

"Your weak attempts at discarding me will not prove efficient, Tigra! I summon Tron and evolve him into Emperor Basiccun! Go, Emperor Basiccun, attack and meteorburn!" Deta said and then he returned Tron to his hand and replaced it with Luciano, Electro-Fuuma. "Emperor Basiccun, break her shield! Qurian, break another shield!"

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Qurian!" Tigra said. "My turn, I evolve Gaga Pikarian into Emperor Cebu Marco X and draw three cards! Go Emperor Cebu Marco X, destroy Emperor Basiccun!"

The two Alien Cyber Lords battled each other but in the end Tigra's emerged victorious.

"I summon Tron, Luciano, Electro-Fuuma and Cherenko!" Deta said and then he put the top card of his deck to one of his shields, took the shield to his hand and then he put one of those two cards back on the top of the deck and the other in the shield zone.

"Wasp does not like this! Deta's field is filled with creatures!"

"Yes, but the good thing is that his hand is now empty." Walter added. "Tigra-sama will use this to her advantage."

"I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and destroy Luciano! Then I put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone which destroys Cherenko!" Tigra said and then a black demonic tiger with an X scar on its chest and rings on its paws appeared by her side and roared.

"I summon Genius Janit, of the Hidden Blade." Deta said.

Thunder Tiger approached Tigra and the white haired girl patted its head.

"Aren't you a good kitty? Yes you are. Now mommy promises that she will give you this traitor for dinner if you behave." Tigra said and the tiger purred at her. "Good kitty! Now it's time for mommy to return to her duel. I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!"

The top cards of Tigra's deck were Hyperspatial Raiden Hole, Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, all three going to her hand and then she ended her turn. Suddenly Deta's hand began to glow with a bright blue light as he drew his next card.

"Tigra!" Deta shouted. "This is for all the suffering you put me through – for killing my parents, for taking away my humanity, for turning me into a machine! Now taste my revenge!"

The blue haired boy raised his hand in the air and placed a Water card onto his Genius Janit card saying:

"I evolve Genius Janit into Maxwell Z, the Super-Electric!"

A giant blue robotic creature with black horns and a pair of long and majestic blue wings appeared behind Deta its might making even Tigra back down.

"Maxwell will not let you cast anymore spells, which means that you won't be able to cast your precious hyperspatial spells to call out your Volg Tiger. Maxwell Z, break her final shields!" Deta ordered and the creature formed a blue laser ball with both its hands which it cast upon Tigra taking down her last two shields.

"Argh! Wasp does not like this situation at all, Walter!"

"Me neither…" the butler replied and then he shouted to his master. "Hang on, Tigra-sama!"

"Don't you worry, I am perfectly fine." Tigra assured him while wiping the dust off her armor. "Quite frankly, I am surprised that you could still remember your childhood after all the brainwashing processes that you went through, Deta."

"Heh, it was all Honda's doing. You should thank him for opening my eyes after such a long time." Deta replied.

"More like for making me lose another minion…"

"Now I do not want to be your minion anymore, Tigra, for I am a free being!"

"Oh, is that so? Well if you don't wish to be my minion anymore then you will most certainly be dead! I evolve Cebu Aquman Jr into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and put another Thunder Tiger in the battle zone! Thunder Tiger, destroy Tron! Then go Zabi Implosion, suicide with Maxwell Z!"

The black demon fought with the blue robot until both creatures disappeared in a huge explosion.

"No, Maxwell!" Deta exclaimed.

"Hahaha, and now it is your turn!" Tigra laughed.

"I summon Paradise Aroma and end."

"As for me, I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys your Paradise Aroma and puts a Volg Thunder in the battle zone which will mill your deck!"

The cards that fell into Deta's graveyard were Qurian and Emperor Basiccun.

"My turn, I summon Cutie Heart and end." Deta said.

"And now let the fun begin! Psychic Link, arise my beautiful Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Tigra said and then a two headed demonic tiger with purple wings and a sharp purple katana in its hands appeared behind her and roared. "I summon two Deis Melnia the Aqua Shadow and end!"

"I summon Lucky Ball and draw two cards!" Deta said. "Then I summon Tron! Cutie Heart, finish her off, todomeda!"

"I block with a Deis Melnia and both creature die. Alright, I believe it's high time I finished this… I evolve my other Deis Melnia into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!" Tigra said and the cards from Deta's deck which were milled were Emperor Maribel, Streaming Shaper and Maxwell Z, the Super-Electric. "Zabi Implosion, double break his shields!"

The black demon fired lasers from its three mouths which burned off two of Deta's shields.

"Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break his shields!" Tigra ordered and the green Alien also fired lasers from its three mouths that took down two more shields. "Thunder Tiger, break his final shield!"

The black tiger rushed at Deta, jumped in the air and used its paws to slash off his last shield leaving him totally defenseless in front of his former master.

"Any last words before I turn you into a bad memory?" Tigra asked.

"Only this…" Deta said while taking off his mask and then he smiled at her. "I have lived the life of a robot, but now I am happy that I can die as a human."

"Useless bag of emotional garbage. Be gone, you failed experiment! Volg Tiger, todomeda!" Tigra ordered and the two headed demonic tiger flew at Deta and used its sword to slash into his costume damaging it and wounding his body fatally.

While he was flying in the air with blood falling out of his body Deta remembered the smiles of his parents, the warmth of their hugs, and also the few happy moments that he had shared with his only friend Honda. Smiling and with tears falling from his eyes, he whispered his last words:

"Honda… thank you for turning me into a human again."

"Deta!" Honda woke up screaming his name. "That idiot… he went to face off Tigra all by himself. She's too powerful for him to handle. I've got to stop him!"

And so the white haired duelist got up from the bed and rushed out of the room unaware of what had happened at the hotel's reception.

Meanwhile at the prison Aqua Edo had managed to unlock all the cuffs that were holding his friends tied to the walls.

"We're finally free!" Tamma jumped in the air happily.

"It is a birthday wish come true!" Luna added.

"Boy these cuffs were starting to hurt my joints…" Tsugumi said while rubbing her hands.

"Thank you so much for rescuing us, Edo-kun!" Subaru hugged his friend.

"Anytime Suby…" Aqua Edo replied rubbing his nose.

"Now let's get out of here, people! We've got some THEM butt to kick!" Subaru suggested and the other four approved.

But just as they walked out of the cell they got face to face with the two unmasked THEM members that had the robe cloaks cover their faces.

"Uh oh, it looks like we've got trouble." Tamma commented.

"No worries, we'll fight our way out of here!" Tsugumi said while taking out of her deck.

"Wait guys, they're the ones that helped me save you guys!" Edo intervened and the two THEM members nodded in approval. "They're Raven and Black Widow, my friends."

"Is that true?" Subaru asked the duo.

"Yes it is." Black Widow answered.

"Now that you're free, get the work done." Raven told them and then both disappeared into thin air much to their surprise.

"Wait a minute! He sounded so familiar, could he be…" Subaru murmured.

"What's the matter?" Tsugumi asked him.

"Oh nothing, I guess I miss that lunatic." he dismissively said and the girl shrugged her shoulders.

And so the chosen duelists rushed out of the prison heading for the hotel. With the heroes free a new light of hope had been lit for the world, but for them a long and hard battle against Tigra was waiting.


	76. Hero

"Nolan! Nolan, wake up!" Blane shook his friend until he finally opened his eyes.

"Wha-What happened here?" Nolan faintly asked.

"Things have taken an interesting turn while you guys were asleep. When I woke up I saw Tigra dueling Honda."

"Tigra? She has been freed?"

"Yes, and she also defeated Honda. I guess the little dicktator was no match for her."

Nolan got up and looked around to see that the city was ablaze and that the creatures of THEM were still damaging it heavily. Hanna and Pyro were nowhere to be found and the same was for Honda. However the entrance to the Overlook Hotel was wide open in front of them. Behind them the UFO lied with its opened doors.

"Where are the others?" Nolan asked.

"I took them back at the UFO and let Robert take care of them." Blane answered. "Are you in the shape to fight?"

"Most definitely!" the tan skinned male said while taking his shining deck out. "This time there is nowhere out for Tigra!"

Blane nodded in approval to him and then both entered the hotel.

Meanwhile at the hotel's reception as Tigra was admiring the power of the scepter with Walter and Wasp kneeling in front of them, Rita finally appeared and she saw the entire scene including Deta's body lying in a pool of blood with the mechanical suit split in half and a huge cut that lasted from his right shoulder to his left hip. The red haired girl covered her mouth with both hands and gasped.

"Welcome back Rita, for a moment I thought we had lost you." Tigra said.

"What happened here, Tigra-sama?" the girl mumbled.

"I simply made an example of Deta so that you will all think twice before daring to betray me; this is what has happened here."

"You sick monster, how could you do that to him?!" Rita thought and clenched her fists. "He may have betrayed you, sure, but that's no reason to pull out the big guns and shoot him like no tomorrow!"

"Is something the matter, Rita? You look rather concerned." Walter said.

"Oh no, Ah am just a little tired here, partner. So many things have happened." the girl dismissively replied.

"And many things are going to happen as well!" Tigra intervened. "It is time for us to begin the ceremony in which my father, the great Fua Zakira, will be reived!"

"Oh no, that's so not good news at all! Goddamn, where are those chosen duelists when you need them?" Rita thought.

"Hold it!" a male voice shouted at them.

"Really, Edo-kun? That's your introduction speech?" another added.

"I wasn't done yet, Suby!" the first voice replied.

"What the…" Tigra uttered and then she turned to the elevator.

Much to their surprise they all saw the five chosen duelists coming out of the elevator. Tamma, Luna and Tsugumi were still dressed in their swimsuits, Subaru was wearing his usual black T shirt and dark blue jeans and Edo was still dressed in his superhero outfit.

"You shall not pass!" Aqua Edo made a step forward to Tigra and held his palm in the air.

"That's Gandalf's speech, Edo-kun…" Subaru corrected him.

"Oh… Then: One shall stand, one shall fall!" Aqua Edo said while putting his hands on his shoulders.

"This is Optimus Prime's speech…" Subaru sighed.

Tigra sweated and looked at the arguing duo with a poker face.

"What is this supposed to mean?" she asked.

"They are trying to make an 'epic heroic entrance'." Walter explained to his master.

"Then how about: Why so serious?" Aqua Edo asked.

"That's not even a hero's line, Edo-kun…" Subaru slapped his own face.

"I give up…" Aqua Edo sighed and then he turned to the golden armored girl and pointed his index finger at her. "The point is - we're here to stop you, Tigra!"

"Hah, you and what army? A black haired buffoon and three losers in swimsuits?" Tigra laughed. "What's next? A circus clown?"

"Actually, that's a good idea!" the blue hero considered.

"Edo!" Tsugumi shouted at him.

"It's Aqua Edo!" he corrected her.

"Silence!" Tigra yelled at them all and knocked the floor with her scepter causing the whole building to shake for a few moments. "I have no time to waste with your nonsense, chosen duelists!"

"Then you'll do what's best for you and give us back the Proofs and the cards!" Subaru suggested.

"You'd wish… Rita, Walter, Wasp, take care of these pathetic excuses for duelists!" Tigra told her minions and then she turned to the stairs ready to run.

"Understood, Tigra-sama!" all three spoke in unison.

But just as she was about to make her getaway, the blue Proof of Duelmaster started shining brightly and it fired a ray upon its multicolored twin. When the light disappeared the second Proof was no longer and instead the card of Devil Diabolos Zeta had flied over to Tsugumi.

"Chosen light duelist, this is my gift to you, use it wisely!" the Proof said.

"I will!" Tsugumi spoke to the gem and then she took the card in her hands.

"Tsh, even with just the original Proof and the five chosen cards in my hand I am still unstoppable!" Tigra said and then she waved her hand to her enemies. "Good bye, chosen losers, I will make sure to keep you a front row seat when daddy conquers the world!"

And so Tigra ran up the stairs and disappeared from their sight. Rita, Walter and Wasp walked to the group of teenagers and took out their decks.

"Oh great, I don't even have a deck to use Devil Diabolos Zeta in!" Tsugumi complained but then Walter walked to her and offered her a deck with 47 cards. "Huh?"

"If we are going to have a duel, you'll need your deck back, no?" Walter said.

"Thank you?"

"It is my pleasure, dear miss!"

The butler then walked to Luna and offered her deck as well. Aqua Edo scratched his head while watching him and then he pulled out a deck from his pockets as well and spoke to the chosen darkness duelist:

"That reminds me, Suby! I kept your deck safe as well!"

"Gee, thanks a lot, Edo-kun…" Subaru said while taking his deck back.

"Oh and I also took the liberty to make some changes."

"You what?! Oh no, you tossed away all my Darkness cards!"

After that assumption Subaru looked quickly through his cards but he was relieved to find all of his precious Darkness cards there: Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, Miracle Re Born, Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger, Hades Death Gate, Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and others, along with some Fire and Water cards as well.

"Phew… you haven't." Subaru sighed with relief.

"Of course not." Edo happily replied but then he thought. "Not yet anyway…"

"Guys, you go after Tigra, we'll take care of them!" Tsugumi instructed Subaru and Edo while she, Luna and Tamma pulled out their decks.

The two nodded to them and then they ran off on the stairs climbing like crazy. Meanwhile the two pairs of three duelists approached each other as six dueling tables rose from the floor. They each put their decks on them, set their cards, deployed their shields and thus began their matches. It was Luna VS Wasp, Tsugumi VS Walter and Tamma VS Rita.

"Stop right there!" Blane shouted while busting into the reception along with Nolan.

"Where's Tigra?" Nolan asked.

"She went upstairs." Luna answered.

"But no worries, brothers Subaru and Edo will take care of her." Tamma added.

"Oh yeah? Then I guess it's no harm if we help them!" Blane said while pulling his sword out of its sheath.

"I suggest you guys take the elevator, it's much easier that way." Tsugumi spoke while pointing behind her.

"Alright, then let's go!" Nolan said and then he and Blane rushed in the elevator.

"Oh great, more disturbances for dear Tigra-sama…" Walter sighed.

While climbing the stairs trying to find the evil daughter of Zakira, an idea struck Aqua Edo. Suddenly he stopped much to Subaru's surprise and then he pulled a black band with two holes out of his suit's pocket.

"Suby, I've got a great idea!"

"What is it, Edo-kun?"

In the next moment Aqua Edo put the black band on Subaru's face, tying it at the back of his head. Now the black haired boy had his eyes covered by it.

"From now on you are Aqua Edo's assistant: Shadow Suby!"

"Do we really have to do this, Edo-kun?"

"Yes, it's fun. Now let's go, Shadow Suby, we've got a world to save!" Aqua Edo said while taking a heroic pose.

"Understood, Aqua Edo!" Subaru tried to imitate the voice of an assistant.

Back at the reception the duels had started.

"Wasp casts Faerie Gift and then Wasp summons Crowd Mayfly!" Wasp said and then a giant orange fly with mantis like claws appeared behind him. "Crowd Mayfly has double breaker and 6000 power because Wasp's mana zone is all Nature! Kiss on that, Water girl!"

"I summon Hot Spring Crimson Meow." Luna said and then a red and blue cat appeared by her side as she drew a card.

"Oh, oh, Wasp has plans! Wasp summons Sword Butterfly!" the blonde boy said and then a giant purple winged butterfly appeared by his side. "Crowd Mayfly, double break her shields!"

The orange fly flew towards the girl and used its claws to slash off two of her shields.

"I summon Aqua Super Emeral." Luna said and then she replaced one of her shields with a card from her hand.

"Wasp summons Pincer Scarab! This creature gets +2000 power for each card in your hand! Now go, Crowd Mayfly, double break her shields!" Wasp ordered and the orange fly repeated its attack upon the girl taking down two more shields.

However the shield shards quickly united into two cards which Luna took into her hand and then she revealed both to her opponent and said:

"Shield trigger, I summon Awesome! Hot Spring Gallows and Aqua Surfer! Aqua Surfer, send Sword Butterfly back to his hands!"

"Not good for Wasp!" the blonde boy exclaimed as the Nature card bounced into his hand.

"My turn, I summon Unicorn Fish and send Pincer Scarab back to your hand!" Luna said and then a brown fish with sharp teeth appeared in the battle zone and bit the giant scarab making it disappear. "Pinky, destroy Crowd Mayfly!"

"Not a good situation for Wasp at all!"

"I like your analytic spirit."

"Moon girl likes Wasp's spirit? Wasp is happy that moon girl likes Wasp!"

"I wouldn't bet on that. Anyway, it's your turn."

"Wasp thanks you, Wasp summons Pincer Scarab and Wasp ends."

"My turn, I cast Hyperspatial Bolshack Hole and put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone! Pinky, double break his shields!" Luna ordered and the red armored Alien fired hot water from its sprinklers which took down two of Wasp's shields. "Hot Spring Crimson Meow, Aqua Super Emeral, Unicorn Fish, break his shields!" Luna continued and the red and blue cat slashed off one shield with its paws, the green humanoid made of water used its fists to break another one and the brown fish used its sharp teeth to bite off the last one.

"Wasp does not believe it! Wasp got no shield triggers!"

"It was nice dueling you, mister Wasp – Victorious Gaial Kaiser, todomeda!"

The red armored dragon flew towards the blonde teen and used both its orange flame swords to hit him and throw him away.

Meanwhile Aqua Edo and Shadow Suby were running down the corridor of each floor opening each door they were passing by trying to find Tigra.

"Aqua Edo, do you really think that we can find Tigra by inspecting each and every room?" Shadow Suby asked.

"Of course my loyal assistant, evil masked villains like Tigra love using an element of surprise and they will hide where you least expect them." Aqua Edo explained.

"But seriously now, it's the fifth floor that we fully inspected and there's no sign of her!"

"We don't have time for complaining, Shadow Suby! We've got a world to save!"

"God, just who told me to pick this job?"

While the two heroes were inspecting the hotel's rooms Tigra reached the final floor. The girl walked with the scepter in her hands looking for her room. But then the elevator reached the last floor as well and when its doors opened Blane and Nolan rushed out of it.

"Tigra!" both teens exclaimed and rushed at the golden armored girl.

"Well, well, look who's bothering me now…" the girl commented.

"I could have waited an eternity for this – it's over, Tigra!" Nolan said while taking out his glowing deck. "You're going to pay for what you did to my brother!"

"Ah yes, I seem to recall that loser and his group called the Hunters." Tigra commented while leaning on the scepter. "So what's the matter? You miss them and you want me to finally reunite you with them?"

"Actually, I'm going to send you back to hell where you belong, you witch!" he threatened and the deck shined even brighter than before as a sign that even his creatures desired revenge.

"Haha, yeah right… You couldn't hope to defeat me even if you were a dueling champion and I was a mere defenseless poor girl. Face it; you're a weakling compared to me!" Tigra mocked Nolan who growled with anger and then the girl turned to Blane. "Oh and you also brought the wannabe guardian angel with you?"

"Don't push it, Tigra!" Blane threatened and pointed his sword at her.

"Oh please, is this any way to treat the one that brought you back from the creature world? I'd expect some recognition from you."

Nolan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as Blane lowered his head and let his hair cover his eyes.

"I know it was a long time ago Blaney, but did you really think that I would forget that?" Tigra smiled evilly at him. "To be honest I expected that you would join THEM instead of running away with Eternal Phoenix. You know, the offer is still on the table."

"And the answer is still: no!" Blane refused.

"In that case I guess I should tell Subaru of our little secret?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Oh come on Blane, don't you want to have a little reunion?"

"Dude, what is she talking about?" Nolan asked.

"At birth I was taken away from my family and sent to the creature world. I grew up in the Fire civilization along Dragons and Fire Birds. But little did I know that Tigra was supervising me and waited for the perfect moment to turn me into her minion. One day she attacked the nest in which we lived with her Volg Tiger and demanded that I surrendered myself to her. Fearing for the fates of my wounded fellows I complied and she brought me back to the human world. She educated me and taught me how to live as a human again in the hope that I would join THEM. However when I found out of her evil goals I snatched the Eternal Phoenix deck that she was building for me, and then I summoned EP and flew away from her organization." Blane explained.

"And what is this secret that she speaks of?"

"This I'm afraid… is none of your business."

Back at the hotel's reception the duels continued.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and destroy her." Tsugumi said and she made Walter discard Aquan Jr's Delivery.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Walter said.

"I summon Prince Avaraldo, Cavalier of Thunder."

The top three cards of Tsugumi's deck were Energy Stream, Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and Mil Armor, Mecha King Vizier. The two spells went into her hand and Mil Armor landed at the bottom of her deck.

"I cast Hyperspatial White Blue Hole and put Gaga Packun, Io Enforcer in the battle zone." Walter said and then an orange creature shaped like a sphere that had a sharp teethed mouth appeared by his side as he placed a card from his hand to his shields. "Now thanks to Gaga Packun your spells cost 1 mana more!"

"You're planning something, aren't you? Let's see what you've got there – I summon Jenny, the Dismantling Doll!" Tsugumi said and Walter showed the two cards from his hand which were Pakulpan, Phantom Thief and Christie Gate. "You're not getting me a second time, pal. I discard Christie Gate!"

The black haired butler watched with disappointment how the Light spell landed in his graveyard.

"So close…" he thought.

"I end my turn." Tsugumi said.

"I summon Pakulpan, Phantom Thief and end."

"I cast Hide and Seek! Return Gaga Packun to the hyperspatial zone!"

"Tsh… I cast Aquan Jr's Delivery!"

The top three cards from Walter's deck were Codefight Alibi Trick, Codedemon Ballom Mystery and Metafiction, Ruler of Fiction. All three were Light and all went into his hand.

"Pakulpan, break her shield!" Walter tapped the card.

"Ninja Strike 4, I summon Falconer, Lightfang Ninja and block Pakulpan!" Tsugumi said. "And now it's my turn, I cast Hyperspatial Shiny Hole and tap Aqua Super Emeral. Then I put Chakra, Temporal Thunder Dragon in the battle zone!"

"You plan on awakening that beast? Sorry to tell you, but that will not happen! I evolve Pakulpan into Codedemon Ballom Mystery!"

A purple winged two headed goat demon that had the upper half of its body white and with three pairs of hands and a white goat head with red eyes, and the lower side of its body golden with one pair of hands made of red and green crystals and a blue goat head with red eyes appeared in the battle zone.

"Ballom Mystery, triple break her shields!" Walter ordered and the demon created a purple laser ball in its hands with which it blew off three of Tsugumi's shields. "And now dear miss, let us see how you manage to overthrow my great Ballom Mystery."

"I'll gladly try! I cast Hyperspatial Dravita Hole and put Aqua Attack (BAGOOON Panzer) in the battle zone!" Tsugumi said and then a blue humanoid made of water riding a golden tank appeared in the battle zone. "Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight."

"Excuse me miss, but your efforts seem rather useless. I summon Metafiction, Ruler of Fiction and attack with Codedemon Ballom Mystery, break her final shields!"

"Block the attack, Bloody Shadow!"

"And now that Ballom Mystery won the battle I put Gimoro, the Silent Killer in the battle zone! I end my turn now, most gracious Tsugumi."

Tsugumi's turn began and the girl drew two cards instead of one having Walter look at her in a weird way. In order to clarify the girl said:

"What? Aqua Attack lets me draw an extra card at the beginning of my turn."

"Oh, I see…"

"And now I cast Hyperspatial Guard Hole and send Aqua Super Emeral to your shield zone. Then I put Diabolos Zeta, Temporal Ruler in the battle zone!" Tsugumi said.

"Oh but thanks to Metafiction I return Christie Gate to my hand due to you casting a spell." Walter added.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight and end."

"I cast… Christie Gate!"

By the spell's effect Walter would check one of his shields and if it was a Light Demon Command he would put it in the battle zone. By the smile that he had it was a sign that indeed he did get one.

"I put Pakulpan, Phantom Thief in the battle zone! Ballom Mystery, break her final shields!" Walter ordered and the golden demon casted a purple laser ball upon Tsugumi's last shields tearing them to pieces.

Tsugumi took cover during the attack and then the shield shards began to unite. She took the two cards into her hand and then she showed a Light spell to her opponent saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast DNA Spark and tap all of your creatures!"

"Oh no!" Walter exclaimed as a helix shaped light beam fell upon his table and tapped all of his cards while a shield appeared above Tsugumi to protect her.

"And now it is my turn, I awaken Devil Diabolos Zeta, Evil Awakened!" Tsugumi said and then a giant creature in blue armor wielding two sharp purple swords and with an armor made of gold on its back which had two dragons and six blue wings attached to it appeared behind her and made Walter back down in fear.

"How can this be? You have that monster!"

"Master, I thank you for the gift…" Tsugumi thought while envisioning the Proof.

"This cannot end like this!" Walter complained.

"Didn't you know by now that good always triumphs over evil? Evolution! Bloody Shadow, become Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

A female angel dressed in a golden armor with a red cape appeared behind Tsugumi who smiled slyly at her opponent.

"Oh no, my spells, my shield triggers…" Walter mumbled trembling.

"They're all gone! Attack Devil Diabolos Zeta, and destroy Ballom Mystery!" Tsugumi ordered and then the blue armored creature fired two lasers from both dragon heads that burned Walter's golden demon to a crisp. "Quadruple break his shields!"

Devil Diabolos Zeta swung both swords and used them to slash off four of his shields.

"Queen Alcadeias, double break his shields! Go, Tenshi!" Tsugumi exclaimed and the angel nodded to her and then she fired a light beam from her right hand which took down two more of his shields. "Prince Avaraldo, break his final shield!"

That was it. Walter was left defenseless in front of the victorious Tsugumi.

"This can't be… I have disappointed Tigra-sama!" Walter cried out.

"Then go back to your master and kiss her butt!" Tsugumi stuck her tongue out. "Jenny, finish him off, todomeda!"

The white haired doll wearing a dark red dress pulled its own strings towards him and used her sharp razor blade to wound him and throw him away.

When Honda arrived at the first floor he had the shock of seeing Deta's dead body lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Even though the wound on his body looked horrible he had a happy smile on his face, something which he had never seen before. Also he noticed that Deta was holding in his hands the card of Hydrooze, the Mutant Emperor and the headband which said 'Honda rocks'. The white haired boy fell on his knees in front of his friend's dead body and then he whispered:

"I should've been in your place…"

Back at the hall of the last floor Nolan approached Tigra with his deck in his hands ready for battle and he said:

"Alright Tigra, chatter time's over! Come and let's duel!"

"Heh fine, I'll have one less pest to worry about." Tigra replied while pulling her deck out and hiding the scepter in her armor. "Let us begin!"

Two dueling tables rose from the floor. Tigra and Nolan walked to them, put their decks on them, set their five shields, drew five cards in their hands and both shouted 'Duel start!' and beginning their confrontation.

Meanwhile Aqua Edo and Shadow Suby had reached the ninth floor with their search and they still were not able to find the evil girl.

"I can't do it anymore Aqua Edo…" Shadow Suby gasped for air and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Hang in there assistant, we've got just one more floor after this one!" Aqua Edo replied while opening the door of each room that he passed by.

"Halt!" two male voices shouted in the same time.

The two heroes turned their heads and saw two THEM members sitting by the stairs that led to the last floor with their decks ready.

"Your search ends here." one of the guards announced them.

"It is time for you to return in your cell." the other added.

"From the looks of it Tigra must be hiding at the last floor." Shadow Suby whispered to his partner's ear.

"Then we don't have any other choice – we must duel them!" Aqua Edo said and then both duelists took out their decks as well and accepted the challenges.

Returning to the hotel's reception Tsugumi joined Luna in sitting on a couch while Tamma and Rita had their duel.

"I summon Vorg, Brawler of Hell!" Tamma said and then a horned humanoid dressed in a black armor and wielding two fire maces appeared in the battle zone. "Say Rita, why are you still fighting by Tigra's side? Didn't you want to free us or something?"

"Ssh…" the cowgirl gesticulated with her index finger and her mouth. "THEM cameras are around here, Ah have to play the role of the bad guy little fella."

"Oh, I see…"

"Anyway, Ah cast Mendelssohn!"

The top two cards of Rita's deck were Codeking Waldstein and Codeking Cantabile, both being Dragons and both ending up in her mana zone tapped.

"But I was wondering… did you even keep your promise?" Tamma asked while putting another card in the battle zone. "I summon Jooni Moririya!"

"Who do you think that told Edo how to find your cell and who do you think that gave him the keys to unlock your cuffs?" Rita whispered.

"Oh I see that's awesome of you!"

"Why thanks there little fella, Ah did what a cowgirl had to do."

"Anyway, Vorg break her shield!"

The humanoid gave a war cry and then he rushed at the girl, jumped in the air and used one of its maces to break one of her shields into pieces.

"But Tsugumi-chan, I don't understand one thing."

"What is it, Luna-chan?"

"If Rita is on our side and she really did help us, then why is she still dueling Tamma?"

"Tigra's cameras are recording everything here. She has to pretend that she is still evil so that her master will not find out of her betrayal."

"I see."

"But I wouldn't worry about them, Luna. From the looks on their faces they seem to be enjoying their duel a lot."

"Ah summon Eco Aini!" Rita said and then the top card of her deck which was Messa Danjiri Dragon landed in her mana zone and was followed by a Codeking Mozart.

"I summon No Questions! Ogre-maru Boy and attack with Vorg, break another shield!" Tamma said and the black armored humanoid broke another shield.

"Alright, it's high time this cowgirl got this party started! Ah summon Bolshack NEX and put Cocco Lupia in the battle zone!"

A red dragon with silver horns, big wings, fire hands, white armor and a long red and white tail that had a zig zag separating the two colors appeared along with a red fire bird that had a small crown on its head.

"I evolve Jooni Moririya into Ogre Beater, Last Attack!" Tamma said and then a giant red armored humanoid with a white X scar on its chest and two cannons for hands appeared in the battle zone behind him. "Ogre Beater, double break her shields and destroy Cocco Lupia!"

The humanoid fired one of its cannons and completely obliterated the fire bird and then it used the other cannon to blast down two of the red haired girl's shields.

"Shield trigger activate, Ah summon Chopin, Dragon King!" Rita said while putting a Nature card in her battle zone. "Ah now battle your Vorg with my Chopin!"

The Nature Dragon fought with the black armored humanoid that belonged to the Darkness and Fire civilizations and won the battle, destroying Tamma's creature.

"Ogre-maru Boy, break her final shield!" Tamma ordered.

The white haired humanoid dressed in a black armor used both of its pink saw-shaped swords to slash Rita's last shield into tiny shreds. Then the red haired child ended his turn.

"Good job on rushing me, partner, but this cowgirl ain't down just yet!" Rita said and then her hand burned with a bright red aura as she summoned her next creature. "Ah summon Codeking Ludwig!"

A giant red armored black winged dragon with golden horns and white metallic gloves on its paws appeared behind Rita and roared loudly at Tamma.

"Ah attack Ogre-maru Boy with Codeking Ludwig which also destroys your Ogre Beater!" Rita said and then she watched how her dragon spat fire upon both of Tamma's creatures and destroyed them. "Ah end."

"Rats, this draw isn't good enough!" Tamma complained after drawing a Terror Pit and then he placed it in his mana zone as his sixth mana. "I end my turn."

"Then it's time for Rita to end this game – Ah summon Bolbalzak Ex!" Rita said and then a red armored white winged dragon with an X scar on its chest and two cannons on its shoulders appeared by her side. "Ah untap my mana and then Ah summon Messa Danjiri Dragon. Codeking Ludwig, triple break his shields!"

The Dragon aimed for Tamma and spat fire from its mouth again burning off three of his shields. However he showed one of the three cards that he received in his hand to her and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Reckless Cut Scrapper and destroy Bolshack NEX!"

A pink saw appeared in the battle zone and cut through the Dragon's stomach making it disappear in agonizing pain.

"Bolbalzak Ex, break his final shields!" Rita ordered and the red armored Dragon fired lasers from both its cannons which took down Tamma's last two shields.

"Shield trigger, I summon Moel, Lovely Ogre Sniper!" Tamma said and then red haired a female humanoid dressed in a pink dress and piloting a war machine appeared in the battle zone. "Destroy Eco Aini!"

Rita watched how her parrot-like bird got blasted into oblivion by the weapons of the female humanoid.

"Ah end. Good job, partner." Rita smiled proudly at the child.

"Thank you. And now to finish this – I summon Genji Boy! Genji Boy, finish her off, todomeda!" Tamma ordered and the shirtless masked boy jumped at Rita and hit her with both its cross shaped swords.

When Rita opened her eyes she saw Tamma offering her his hand.

"Huh? What's going on here?" the confused cowgirl asked.

"Thanks for the duel, it was really fun. Also, thanks for helping us out." Tamma said.

"Nah, it was nothing really, Ah just did what had to be done."

"Well if anything, you are always welcome to join us." Luna intervened.

"Yes, we could use someone as strong and kind as you, cowgirl." Tsugumi added.

"Ah don't really know what to say…" Rita blushed.

"She means yes!" Tamma answered for her.

"Hey, that's not what Ah meant you little calf!"

"Oh yes you did, cowgirl!"

Rita got up and chased Tamma who kept laughing and mocking her in a friendly manner while Tsugumi and Luna watched them laughing as well. But little did they know that upstairs the confrontation between Tigra and Nolan had begun and it was going to be one duel of epic proportions.


	77. Revenge

Robert walked out of the UFO with his spiky beard covering his chin and cheeks. His eyes were tired for he had worked hard to build the perfect deck that would defeat Tigra and because he had also taken care of the wounded Hanna and Pyro. Now as he was approaching the Overlook Hotel ignoring the flames that were burning the buildings around him, only one thought and one desire was in his mind: revenge.

At the ninth floor of the building Aqua Edo and Shadow Suby were facing off the two THEM guardians in order to access the last floor and find the evil Tigra.

"I summon Aqua Intern!" Aqua Edo said and then a purple humanoid made of water with blue hair, black clothes, red bow tie and a red staff in its hand appeared in the battle zone.

"I summon Gachapinchi, Invasion Guardian!" the guard said and then a flying robotic duck lacking wings appeared behind him.

"I charge mana and break one of your shields with Aqua Intern!"

The water humanoid jumped towards the guardian and used its staff to break one of his shields into pieces. The guard drew his next card, charged mana and put a Light card in his battle zone saying:

"I summon Mamori Taihappy, Love Guardian!"

A golden robotic fish appeared in the battle zone alongside the robotic duck.

"I summon Aqua Professor!" Aqua Edo said and a purple water humanoid wearing golden glasses, holding a book under its right arm and holding a teacher's stick in its left arm appeared next to Aqua Intern.

"I summon Buinbe, Airspace Guardian!" the guard said and then a golden parrot like robot appeared in the battle zone alongside his other Light creatures.

"My turn, I cast Brain Storm!" Aqua Edo spoke and then he drew three cards and put two cards from his hand on the top of his deck. "Then I cast another Brain Storm!" he continued and then he repeated the process. "Aqua Professor, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!"

The top card of the guard's deck was Wing Spark, Secret Safeguard while the top card of Edo's deck was Aqua Librarian. It was 8 VS 8 so even if it was a tie, Aqua Edo won because he got to use his creature's effect.

"I send Buinbe back to your hand. Aqua Professor, break his shield!" Aqua Edo ordered and the water professor used its teaching stick to break a shield.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Evinbee, Intercept Guardian!" the guard showed the Light card that he received from his shields and then a blue robotic bee appeared in the battle zone. "With its effect I tap Aqua Intern!"

"I end."

"And now it is my turn, I summon Buinbe, Airspace Guardian and Samenbi, Superiority Guardian. Mamori Taihappy, attack Aqua Intern!"

"Hah, my Aqua Intern has Hunting so both creatures die!"

But much to Aqua Edo's surprise only his creature got destroyed.

"I use Gachapinchi's Ultra Saver effect and sacrifice him instead so Mamori Taihappy remains." the guard explained.

"Tsh, I summon Aqua Sonicwave and send Mamori Taihappy to your hand!" Aqua Edo said and then a blue water humanoid with guns instead of hands appeared in the battle zone and shot the robotic fish making it disappear. "Aqua Professor, attack and we play Hardcore Judge again!"

This time the top card of the guard's deck was Tars Kerukeruyo, Holy Heaven Guardian while the top card of Aqua Edo's deck was Aqua Intern. It was 6 VS 2 so the guard won and Aqua Edo could not activate the effect of his creature.

"Aqua Professor, break his shield!" Aqua Edo ordered.

"Block the attack, Samenbi!" the guard said and then he watched how his opponent's creature got destroyed. "I summon Yara Se Nice, Dedication Guardian!"

A robotic white owl armed with two golden maces and four rocket launchers appeared behind the guardian joining his army of Light creatures. Aqua Edo's hand glowed with a blue aura as he drew his next card. He immediately charged mana, tapped all seven cards in his mana zone and said:

"Alright, it's time to be rocking the waves – I summon Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

A blue water humanoid with yellow wings, two blades for arms and a shark head that was a riding a surfboard appeared behind Aqua Edo and screeched loudly at his opponent.

"Get him Snipy, atta boy!" Aqua Edo pointed at his opponent and his creature hit Samenbi and Yara Se Nice making both disappear and bouncing their cards back to their owner's hand. "Aqua Sonicwave, break his shield!"

The creature aimed both of its guns at the guard and shot down a third shield. But little did the blue hero know that his nightmare was about to begin.

"Evolution – Evinbee become Tars Kerukeruyo, Holy Heaven Guardian!" the guard said and then the robotic bee got surrounded by a yellow aura and morphed into a giant flying battleship. "I attack with Tars Kerukeruyo and send Evinbee, Intercept Guardian to the top of my deck. Then I put Evinbee in the battle zone and tap Aqua Naruto Surfer. Tars Kerukeruyo, destroy Aqua Sonicwave!"

"N-not good!" Aqua Edo sweated upon seeing his creature being crushed by the giant battleship. "I summon Aqua Buster and destroy it! With its effect I send Tars Kerukeruyo back to your hand! Aqua Naruto Surfer, break his shield!"

Snipy screeched and flew towards the guard using both its blade arms to slash another one of his shields to pieces.

"Heh, my turn, I summon Yara Se Nice, Dedication Guardian and two Samenbi, Superiority Guardian!" the guard said while putting the three Light cards on his table. "Evinbee, attack Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

"Huh? But its power is lower than that of Snipy, it'll be destroyed." Aqua Edo commented.

"Exactly, but when one of my non-evolution Guardians is destroyed, Yara Se Nice puts it into my shields!"

And so the card of Evinbee, Intercept Guardian bounced off the battle zone and landed in the shield zone giving the guard a second shield. Sadly for Aqua Edo, his draw wasn't that good. But he had no other choice so he put it in the battle zone saying:

"I summon Aqua Intern…"

"I summon Mamori Taihappy, Love Guardian and Truename Excited Chappurun!" the guard said and then he searched his deck and took a Light spell to his hand. "By its effect I take Wing Spark, Secret Safeguard from my deck and put it in my hand."

Suddenly Aqua Edo felt a pulsating wave coming from his deck. The brown haired hero looked at it and saw it radiating with a blue aura. He knew that the certain card he was waiting for was coming. The boy drew it, smiled and then he placed it in the battle zone upon another while saying:

"I evolve Aqua Intern into Crystal Super Paladin!"

A four armed blue crystal centaur wielding two swords and two shields appeared in the battle zone and neighed.

"I attack with Crystal Super Paladin and send all of your blockers back to your hand!" Aqua Edo said and then he watched how both of the guard's Samenbi, Superiority Guardian got bounced into his hand. "Crystal Super Paladin, break his final shields!"

The paladin swung both of its swords and slashed both of the guard's shields into four pieces. However the shields regenerated into two cards and he put one in the battle zone saying:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Evinbee, Intercept Guardian and tap Aqua Naruto Surfer! And now it's my turn, I summon Samenbi, Superiority Guardian and evolve Evinbee, Intercept Guardian into Tars Karekuryo, Holy Heaven Guardian! Go, Tars Karekuryo, destroy Crystal Paladin and send Evinbee to the top of my deck and then to the battle zone! Truename Excited Chappurun, destroy Aqua Naruto Surfer!"

"Oh no, guys, don't leave me now!" Edo exclaimed and watched how both his creatures got destroyed. "Aw man…"

"And now it is your turn." the guard passed.

"I summon… Aqua Sonicwave and send Evinbee back to your hand. I end."

Meanwhile Shadow Suby's duel was not brighter at all for him.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist!" Shadow Suby said and then the black haired Duel Hero dressed in a dark blue suit with a black shirt underneath, a red tie and a black cape on his back appeared behind him holding his usual rose and lollipop.

"Finally you summoned me, it's been days!" Atsuto complained and stretched his hands. "I was starting to get rather bored inside that card."

"Sorry that I wasn't able to duel that day." the chosen darkness duelist apologized.

"Anyway, let me fabulously help you!" the black haired Duel Hero offered to draw two cards for his master and then he discarded Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger and Funk, Guard of Hope.

"I cast Spiral Slider." the guard said and then a spiral of water surrounded Atsuto and made him disappear, his card bouncing back to Shadow Suby's hand.

"I summon Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist once again!" Shadow Suby said and his friend reappeared once again.

"Hey you, that wasn't fabulous at all!" Atsuto shouted at the guard while drawing two cards for his master. "Anyway, I suggest you discard these."

Shadow Suby discarded Funk, Guard of Hope and Emergency Typhoon ending his turn afterwards.

"I charge mana and end." the guard said.

"I charge mana and end." Shadow Suby did the same.

"Hehehe, it is time to ruin your plans!"

"What?"

"I summon Robo Filler Concurion!"

A green robot appeared by the guard's side who laughed evilly.

"Hahaha, when Robo Filler Concurion is put in the battle zone I may select any number of cards from your graveyard and put them at the bottom of your deck!" the guard explained.

"Oh no!" Atsuto exclaimed. "That means that his strategy…"

"Is now ruined, hahaha! Send all four cards from your graveyard at the bottom of your deck!"

Shadow Suby watched with disappointment how Emergency Typhoon, both his Funk, Guard of Hope and the powerful Thunder Blade, Wolf Tiger flew from his graveyard and entered his deck going straight to the bottom.

"Tsh, there are other ways of filling one's graveyard!" Shadow Suby said while showing a Darkness spell. "I cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole which destroys Concurion and puts Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

A winged demonic red wolf wielding a blue sword appeared in the battle zone and howled.

"I choose to mill… my deck!" Subaru said and then he watched how the top cards of his deck landed in his graveyard, those being Miracle Re Born, Atsuto, Duel Hero Strategist, Energy Stream and Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff. "I end for now."

"I summon Rescue Space, Emergency Mecha!" the guard said and then a giant white robot with red marks on its body appeared in the battle zone.

"Then I cast Persistent Prison of Gaia and send Rescue Space to your hand!"

The robot got surrounded by a blue crystal prison and disappeared as its card got bounced to the guardian's hand. Then a black cloud flew to him and chose one of the three cards from his hand to discard it. The card was Mecha Machine, Secret Fusion, so he couldn't send one of his opponent's shields to the graveyard. The guard's turn came and he drew a card, charged mana and casted a Water spell saying:

"My turn, I cast Mecha Machine, Secret Fusion and draw two cards! Then I summon Powerful Num Lock, SL Mecha and draw a card, then I put a card from my hand on the top my deck deck. I end."

"I cast another Persistent Prison of Gaia!" Shadow Suby said and he bounced the guard's only creature back to his hand and then he discarded a card that was Rescue Space, Emergency Mecha. "Rats! I can't send one of his shields to the graveyard again… Oh well, I end my turn."

"I cast Mecha Machine, Secret Fusion and draw two cards again! Then I cast Spiral Slider and send Volg Thunder back to the hyperspatial zone!"

Shadow Suby's hand suddenly got surrounded by a purple aura. He knew what that meant – he was about to draw a powerful card. Once he saw what it was, he knew that the game would turn in his favor, so he smiled slyly at his opponent and said:

"I summon Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!"

A red caped horned knight in purple armor that had a yellow X mark on its chest and was wielding two yellow laser guns appeared behind Shadow Suby and roared at the guard. The black haired teen grabbed his deck, browsed it and then he tossed a Miracle Re Born into his graveyard.

"Oh great, this isn't good news!" the guard thought and then he spoke. "I summon Powerful Num Lock, SL Mecha. Then I cast Brain Storm!"

The guard drew three cards and when he saw what he got he regained his confidence. He quickly put two useless cards at the top of his deck and then he also put a Water card in the battle zone saying:

"I summon Filler Robo Concurion and put all cards from your graveyard at the bottom of your deck!"

"Oh great, not now!" Shadow Suby complained and then he watched how one by one all the cards in his graveyard went to the bottom of his deck. "With an empty graveyard Zero Romanoff is completely useless…"

"Hahaha, exactly! And now I end my turn." the guard announced.

"Grr, I cast Hades Death Gate and destroy that little Concurion Bugger!"

"And now to finish this – I summon not one but two Rescue Space, Emergency Mecha and evolve one of them into Excavator MS, Fused Giant Soldier!"

A giant robot made up of bits from excavating machines appeared in the battle zone by the guard's side.

"I attack with Excavator MS and we play Hardcore Judge!" the guard said and then he revealed his top card as Codename iFormulaX while Shadow Suby's top card was Hyperspatial Raiden Hole. "Heh, 7 VS 6, I win and now I send Zero Romanoff to your hand and take Codename iFormulaX to my hand! Excavator MS, double break his shields!"

Shadow Suby took cover as two of his shields got demolished by the giant robot. Sadly for him he received no shield triggers. However the card that he received from them would help him a little bit.

"Atsuto…"

"Yes, Subaru?"

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For this – I cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!" Shadow Suby said and then the top cards of his deck fell into his graveyard, those being Super Go On Pippi, Energy Stream, Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, two Emergency Typhoon and Funk, Guard of Hope. "Then I destroy Atsuto and put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone!"

"Not fabulous!" Atsuto exclaimed as he disappeared in an explosion and was replaced by a black demonic tiger.

"With Thunder Tiger's effect I destroy Rescue Space! I end."

Suddenly the hands of both guards began to glow, one with a yellow aura, the other with a blue aura. Both drew their next cards and then they placed them in the battle zone.

"I evolve Samenbi into Tars Kerukeruyo, Holy Heaven Guardian!"

"I summon Rescue Space, Emergency Mecha and evolve it into Excavator MS, Fused Giant Soldier!"

"I got double screwed!" Aqua Edo gulped.

"I got double screwed as well!" Shadow Suby added.

"Tars Kerukeruyo, attack and send Samenbi to the top of my deck and then to the battle zone, then double break his shields! Yara Se Nice, double break his shields as well!" the guard ordered and then four of Aqua Edo's shields got blasted into pieces.

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer!" Aqua Edo sighed with relief. "Send Truename Excited Chappurun back to his hand!"

"Grr, I end…"

"Excavator MS, attack and we play Hardcore Judge!" the guard said and then he revealed the top card of his deck as another Excavator MS, Fused Giant Soldier while Shadow Suby revealed the top of his card as Hades Death Gate.

"Heh, 5 VS 6, looks like I win." Shadow Suby remarked.

"Double break his shields, Excavator MS! Then my other Excavator MS, attack and we play Hardcore Judge again!"

The top card of the guard's deck was Brain Storm while the top card of Shadow Suby's deck was Energy Stream. It was 2 VS 3 so once again the black haired hero won and the guard could not activate his creature's effect.

"Excavator MS, break his final shield!" the guard ordered and thus Shadow Suby was left shield less.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Inferno Sign and revive Super Go On Pippi!" Shadow Suby said and then a bird made of fire with dark green sunglasses on its forehead appeared above him and chirped.

"And now it's time for you to say good night – I summon another Aqua Surfer and send Samenbi back to your hand!" Aqua Edo said. "Aqua Sonicwave, todomeda!"

"Block the attack, Samenbi!" the guard mumbled.

"Aqua Surfer, todomeda!" Aqua Edo ordered and the blue surfer rode towards the THEM guard and hit him with its surfboard throwing him away.

"Oh no!" the other guard exclaimed upon seeing his colleague lose.

"As for you… Psychic Link – Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Shadow Suby said and then a demonic two headed tiger with purple wings and a purple katana in its hands appeared behind him and roared. "My turn, I summon Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and by its effect I put Hyperspatial Emperor Hole in the graveyard. And since Super Go On Pippi makes my Dragon Hunters speed attacker I now attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and put Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier in the battle zone! Black Ganveet's effect destroys Excavator MS and Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff attacks and takes care of your other Excavator MS!"

The guard's situation was not bright at all. Even though he managed to get rid of his opponent's shields, he was now both hand less and creature less. The next card that he drew was Control Fire, Fire-Fighting Machine, a blocker that had a cost of seven while he had only six cards in his mana zone. To make matters worse, if he were to charge mana with it then Black Ganveet would awaken into Darkness Ganveet. Sighing, he passed his turn. Then Shadow Suby showed a Darkness spell to him and said:

"I cast Miracle Re Born and revive Funk, Guard of Hope! Then I attack with Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff and cast Hyperspatial Raiden Hole which puts Victorious Meteor Kaiser in the battle zone! Then by Raiden Hole's effect I destroy my Zero Romanoff and put Cheval, Temporal Demon Spirit in the battle zone as well! And since I got two Demon Commands with cost 6 or more – Volg Tiger and Black Ganveet – I now awaken Cheuxvelt, the Awakened Demon Spirit!"

"I charge mana and summon Control Fire, Fire-Fighting Machine…" the guard spoke with disappointment and then he watched how Cheuxvelt gave Shadow Suby a new shield.

"And now it's time to finish you off just like Aqua Edo did with your pal!" Shadow Suby announced his opponent. "Awaken - Darkness Ganveet, the Assassin Awakened! I summon Super Go On Pippi and then I cast Miracle Re Born which revives Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! With its effect I put a second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff in the graveyard. Then I attack with my Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born and revive a second Zero Romanoff which puts a third Zero Romanoff in my graveyard. Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff double break his shields!"

"Block it, Control Fire!'

"I attack with my second Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, cast Miracle Re Born which revives my third Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff! By its effect I put Hyperspatial Emperor Hole in the graveyard. I double break your shields with my Zero Romanoff! Then I attack with my third Zero Romanoff, cast Hyperspatial Emperor Hole and put Victorious Gaial Kaiser in the battle zone! Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff, double break his shields again! Cheuxvelt, break his final shield! Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast todomeda!"

And so Aqua Edo and Shadow Suby managed to defeat the two guards that were standing in their way. The two hi fived victoriously and then they rushed up the stairs towards the final level of the building.

While the duo of heroes had their duels the match between Nolan and Tigra had begun as well.

"I summon Yattare Pippi!" Nolan said.

"I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper!" Tigra said.

"I summon Cocco Lupia!"

"I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card!"

"I summon Eco Aini!"

The top card of Nolan's deck that went into his mana zone was Danchino Kaiser, Mother Green Ogre Dragon which was then followed by a DNA Spark.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Tigra said and then she revealed the top three cards of her deck as being Hyperspatial Revive Hole, Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and Hyperspatial Vice Hole. "All are Darkness and all go to my hand!"

"It's coming… I have to prepare myself for it!" Nolan thought and then he said. "I summon Romanesk, the Dragon Wizard!"

The top four cards of Nolan's deck which were Terradragon Lightning Rhythm, Falconer, Lightfang Ninja, Shining Edge, Light Divine Dragon and Mitsurugi Boost, Matchless Dragon Ogre landed in his mana zone, the latter tapped. Then he sent one of his cards to the graveyard and ended.

"Nice mana accel you got there. It will aid me for my Volgasm!" Tigra said while tapping five cards in her mana zone. "I cast Hyperspatial Revive Hole and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone! Mill his deck!"

The red wolf demon with wings and a blue sword appeared behind Tigra and howled at Nolan as the top cards of his deck fell in the graveyard one by one, those being Hunter Fire, Secret Hunter, Zenith Plan, Bolshack NEX, Natural Snare and Truename Ragon NEX. But a simple mill was not enough to intimidate the boy. He would not give up so easily and he proved so in his next turn.

"I evolve Eco Aini into Valkyrie Lupia, Sky Lord Dragon-mech!" Nolan said and then he searched his deck and selected a Zero card which he showed to Tigra and then he added it in his hand and ended his turn.

"Oh, little brother is now using Zeniths? This should be interesting…" Tigra commented and then she placed a Darkness card upon her Water card. "I evolve Cebu Aquman Jr into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and then I put a second Volg Thunder in the battle zone! My dear sweet Volg, mill his deck again!"

A second wolf appeared and howled as the top cards of Nolan's deck once again fell into the graveyard, those being DNA Spark, Natural Snare, Cocco Lupia, Zenith Requiem, Secret Zenith and Terradragon Overboost. Then Tigra ended her turn.

"Your end has finally come, Tigra!" Nolan threatened. "Do you happen to remember my JetBlaze Admiral?"

"You mean that pathetic Bolshack Ulpheus of yours?" Tigra asked bored.

"Yes, now this 'pathetic' creature has now evolved into something new – a Zenith!"

The remaining eight cards from Nolan's mana zone tapped themselves and then he put into the battle zone the Zero card that he took into his hand with Valkyrie Lupia's effect saying:

"I summon Battle the Climax, Zenith of "Victory"!"

A giant Dragon warrior dressed in a white spiky armor and wielding a red flaming sword appeared in the battle zone and roared at Tigra with its cries of vengeance.

"When I summon this creature it gets speed attacker and it also untaps when it wins a battle so don't even think of blocking!" Nolan spoke to the shocked Tigra whose jaw had dropped. "At long last the day has come… Battle the Climax, triple break her shields! Let's fly into the heat of battle, JetBlaze Admiral!"

Battle of Climax rushed at Tigra and swinging its sword it slashed off three of her shields. However the shield shards quickly united into three cards which went into her hand and then she showed one to him and said:

"Shield trigger activate, I summon Aqua Surfer and send Romanesk back to your hand!"

"Valkyrie Lupia, break her shield!" Nolan ordered and his armored Fire Bird took down one more shield of Tigra's. "Cocco Lupia, break her final shield!"

"Block the attack, Berlin!" Tigra said and then the creature made of black mud that was wielding a giant bell used it to hit the red fire bird and make it disappear.

"Yattare Pippi, break her final shield!" Nolan desperately shouted and thus the golden armored girl was rendered shield less. "I end my turn."

"Heh, and thus the game has also ended for you!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If you would have been nice enough not to attack, I would have kept spamming Volg Thunder to mill those seven cards that are left in your deck, but since you preferred the hard way I guess I will have to satisfy you."

Tigra rose her hand in the air and then she put a Water card upon her only Light card in the battle zone and said:

"I evolve Gaga Pikarian into Emperor Cebu Marco X! And now I attack with Emperor Cebu Marco X, double break his shields! Zabi Implosion, double break his shields as well!"

Nolan took cover as the two giant Alien evolution creatures fired lasers from their mouths which broke four of his shields. Sadly for him none were shield triggers.

"Aqua Surfer, break his final shield!" Tigra ordered and then the blue surfer rode through his last shield and tore it to pieces.

"Shield trigger activate, I cast Natural Snare and send one of your Volg Thunders back to the hyperspatial zone!" Nolan said and then one of Tigra's demonic wolves got surrounded by a green aura and vanished into thin air.

"Stubborn as ever, I see? Oh well, as I promised, I am going to reunite you with your brother and his friends the Hunters… in hell! Volg Thunder, todomeda!"

When Aqua Edo and Shadow Suby finally reached the final floor an explosion occurred and smoke covered the way for them. Once everything was clear again the duo had the horror of witnessing a desperate Blane trying to wake Nolan up while Tigra was sitting by her dueling table laughing diabolically.

"Oh no… Nolan!" Shadow Suby screamed out for his friend.

The black haired duelist ran towards the wounded Nolan and Aqua Edo followed him.

"Nolan, are you alright? Speak to me!" Shadow Suby shouted and shook him.

"Oh no, is he…" Aqua Edo was about to say the word 'dead'.

"No, I can still feel his pulse." Blane brought them good news.

"Phew, thank goodness!" Shadow Suby sighed and then he got up. "Aqua Edo, Blane, our ways part here."

"What do you mean assistant?" Aqua Edo asked.

"I mean that play time is over!" Subaru said while taking the band off his eyes. "You guys go get Nolan some help while I finish the job here!"

"Dude, you can't, she's way too powerful! She'll destroy you before you even know it!" Blane tried to reason with the black haired chosen duelist.

In the next moment Subaru clenched his right fist which burned with a powerful purple aura that brought fear into Aqua Edo's eyes.

"I don't care what you or anyone else say, Blane, I am going to finish Tigra once and for all and nothing is going to stand in my way!" Subaru growled with the wrath of a lion.

"Suby…" Aqua Edo murmured.

"Is there no way to change your mind?" Blane asked and Subaru shook his head.

The long brown haired guardian angel smiled and then he walked to the chosen darkness duelist and patted him on the back.

"Good luck then!" Blane wished him.

"Thanks, I promise I'll finish what Nolan has started." Subaru assured him.

"Just come back in one piece, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will!"

And so Blane grabbed Nolan and put him on his back and then he and Aqua Edo ran to the elevator.

"Good luck, Suby!" Aqua Edo's voice resounded from far away.

Now it was just Subaru and Tigra. Finally the two Darkness duelists, the two users of Volg Tiger were all alone ready to clash against each other.

"I guess that in the end it all has come down to this, right Subaru Geki?" Tigra asked.

"Everything could have been avoided if you would've been a good girl and have stopped this madness when we told you to." Subaru answered while pulling out his deck. "Sadly because of you I now have to clean up the mess that you have caused."

"Haha, honestly I would love to see you try. Though I wonder why would you do this to me when I have a piece of information that you most desire?"

"Just what are you scheming now you fiend?"

"Oh nothing really, I just thought that you wanted to find out who your brother was."

Suddenly Subaru froze as if Tigra's words had struck him like lightning.

"My brother?" Subaru mumbled.

"Yes Subaru, I know who your brother is." Tigra answered. "Doctor Root did not know this but my THEM agents were spying him for a long time and frankly I was quite interested in the case of Maria Geki and her twins. Of course I lifted my attention from you since you were put under strict protection, but your brother was something different – he was taken in Doctor Root's house where the good old kook tried his best to heal him and make him a healthy boy again. He even went as far as to change some of his genes. But in the end everything ended up as a failure and he sent him to the creature world as a final desperate attempt."

"I know the story Tigra, you didn't have to remind me."

"But did you know that I was the one who brought him back from the creature world?"

"You what?!"

"Yes, I also educated him and trained him to become a THEM duelist but sadly he betrayed me and chose to join you guys instead. How funny, he was right there under your nose all this time, Subaru and you didn't know!"

"Who is it?! Tell me, Tigra!"

"How funny, you don't know who he is, but I do and so does he. I just wonder why he was hiding it from you all this time. Is he afraid of his dear brother?"

"TELL ME!" Subaru yelled at the girl who smiled at him with satisfaction.

"You want to find out who your brother is? Then I suggest we continue our conversation here." Tigra replied while opening the door of room 1027 and walking inside. "Come on in!"

Gulping Subaru approached the opened door and entered the room closing it behind him. In the meantime the elevator reached the last floor and out of it a tall figure walked out.


	78. Rise of the chosen duelists

It was another July night. The stars and moon from the clear sky were shining with might in the pelt of darkness. But nobody could admire their beauty. In that year of 2102, it seemed that being alive was the worse conceivable hell possible. The secret organization of THEM, also known as Tigra's Hot Emotional Monsters, that adored and worshipped the fallen duelist Fua Zakira, the leader of the Fua family, had managed to subjugate the whole world under its tyranny. Cities were being raided, citizens were being forced into slavery, and giant creatures from another world were causing chaos, the whole planet suffering a huge crisis. And it was all coming from a single city located at the shores of a sea. Who would have thought that the root of all the evil which was torturing mankind was coming from that single place, and to be more exact, from a hotel? And to add salt to the injury, who would have conceived of the whole evil coming from a simple card game?

At the exit of the Overlook Hotel Tsugumi, Tamma and Luna walked out along with their new friend Rita, now the ex-anti-chosen fire duelist. The first three were still dressed in their swimsuits which they wore when they were abducted while Rita was wearing her usual cowgirl clothes. Nonetheless, they all looked tired due to the duels that they had had.

"You will like it in our UFO, Rita." Tamma said. "It's the most awesome place you'll ever see!"

"Ah dunno partner, this new technology just ain't my style." Rita apologized.

"Oh but we insist, you have to check it out! We promise that you will not be disappointed at all by this vehicle's high tech technology and comfort!" Luna added.

"Give it some time, you will get used to it." Tsugumi assured the red haired girl.

"Personally Ah am more worried about those cowboys that we've left behind there. Do you think they'll get the job done?"

"Don't you worry Rita, Subaru and Edo will have everything under control." Tsugumi said and then she clasped her hands, closed her eyes and whispered. "Good luck my love, may you defeat this evil that has fallen upon our poor home!"

But then they heard footsteps coming from behind and when they turned around they saw Blane and Aqua Edo running out of the hotel, the muscular one holding an unconscious wounded Nolan on his back.

"Oh no, what happened?" Luna asked.

"Tigra…" Blane answered shortly. "We've got to take him back; he needs to be taken care of pronto!"

"And what about Subaru?" Tsugumi asked.

"Suby's staying there to finish the job." Aqua Edo explained while turning his head to the building. "He'll need all the luck in the world."

Inside the Overlook Hotel, at its final level, inside room 1027, the battle that would decide the fate of the world was about to begin. Tigra sat in the center of the room where the bear skin rug was no more but instead of it there was a pillar made of stone above which the Proof of Duelmaster was floating with the five chosen cards spinning around it. The golden scepter on which they previously were had been tossed away. Tiger sat next to her bed fully naked with his dark green hat covering his genitals and with her chained leash still on his neck. Subaru sat at the entrance with his deck ready in his right hand preparing for the worse.

"So Tigra, are you going to tell me who my real brother is or not?!" Subaru asked irritated by his own impatience.

"Your anger amuses me, Subaru." Tigra replied. "What is there to say? He has always been there for you, he always helped you when you needed him, and yet you still couldn't recognize him! What more is there to add? That you are a failure of a brother?"

"A name, Tigra, I need a name!"

"And why should I tell you his name, huh? Guessing is a lot more fun, don't you think?"

The fact that Tigra stuck her tongue out to him only angered Subaru more. Seeing that he could not pull out more from her, he approached the golden armored girl and demanded:

"Alright Tigra, since you don't want to help me I am going to tell you how we can end this whole madness. First you must give us back the Proof and the chosen cards, then you must stop THEM's attacks on the world and dissolve the organization and finally… you must free Tiger."

"Sheesh, someone finally notices me." Tiger ironically said.

"Just put some clothes on already!" Subaru replied with disgust.

"I would if I had any…"

"Nice demands you got there, your highness." Tigra sarcastically spoke. "But would you also like a knuckle sandwich with them?"

"I take it as a no." Subaru commented and then his deck got surrounded by a bright purple aura.

"Take it as you wish, but before we begin our confrontation I have something to show you, chosen darkness duelist!"

Tigra snapped her fingers and then the five chosen cards shined with lights that represented their respective civilizations. The white haired girl grinned evilly at the black haired boy and said:

"Remember that the Proof can grant one wish to its owner. Guess what I am going to wish for…"

"Oh no… Tigra don't! You don't know what you're doing!" Subaru exclaimed.

"On the contrary, I know exactly what I am doing – fixing something that had been damaged in the past!" Tigra explained to him.

The golden armored girl fell on her knees in front of the Proof putting both of her hands on her chest and with the most humble voice she could make she said:

"Oh Proof of Duelmaster, most sacred gem in the entire creature world, I Tigra come to you with just one wish. I beg of you, Proof of Duelmaster, heed my call! Bring my father back from the dead, let him rise again!"

Each of the five cards fired a beam into the blue gem and then a black portal opened and the ghost of Zakira came out shaped like a black smoke with two red shining eyes.

"Father!" Tigra exclaimed. "You are going to be born again!"

"Zakira…" Subaru whispered as a sudden shiver fell down his spine.

Suddenly the door of Tigra's room slammed open and the rather tired figure of Robert stepped in looking fiercer than ever. The door's noise made everyone turn their attention to the newcomer.

"Oh great, another loser crashing my party…" Tigra sighed as she got up.

"Finally, after all those lost nights of hard work, I've found you." Robert said.

"Robert, stay out of this, this situation is too much for you to handle!" Subaru intervened.

"Oh no Subaru, this is the very reason why I came to your time. I have come to avenge the death of Alexandra which this bitch and her Volg Tiger mercilessly murdered. She will pay for taking away everything that I loved! And nobody, not even you, will stand in my way!"

"Yes, I seem to remember you, you're the loser that hosted that tournament in the past. What's the matter? Did you come all the way here to suffer the same fate as my treacherous minions and that blind vengeful little brother?" Tigra sarcastically asked.

"No Tigra, I have come to bring justice where it is needed!" Robert said and then his whole deck burned with an uncontrollable yellow and purple aura that amazed the leader of THEM and the two chosen duelists. "And this night you will be brought to justice!"

"Oh, so I have to face you instead of the chosen darkness duelist? I have nothing against it."

Tigra took out her own deck which emanated darkness energy. Subaru patted Robert's shoulder and then he walked to Tiger who was struggling to free himself from the leash.

"We're here if you need us, Robert!" Subaru assured him but then he thought. "I just hope you won't."

"Care to help me get out of this mess?" Tiger asked his colleague while pulling the chains as hard as he could.

Subaru looked at him sweating and he shrugged his shoulders and leaned down to check if the leash and its chain had any weak spots.

Meanwhile two dueling tables rose from the room's floor. Tigra and Robert walked to them, both putting their decks on them and setting their cards.

"Any last words before we begin the match?" Tigra asked.

"Just these: Duel start!" Robert answered.

Ten blue rectangular shields materialized above them, five for each, and thus their duel began.

"I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll!" Tigra said and then a red eyes white haired doll dressed in a dark red dress and wielding a sharp razor blade appeared behind her. "I destroy Jenny and discard a card from your hand!"

The card that Robert discarded was Lost Mind Torture, a Darkness spell which was mostly used by Honda, this fact surprising her.

"What's the matter? You decided to go anti-spell?" Tigra asked.

"No…" Robert replied while charging mana. "I decided to go anti-Tigra! I summon Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper!"

A horned mud creature wielding a golden bell appeared behind Robert who smiled at his opponent slyly and said:

"Let's see you try to discard me now!"

"Tsh…" Tigra spat while charging mana with Ghost Touch. "I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

A little white Alien controlling a mini submarine appeared behind the armored girl.

"I summon Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction." Robert said and then a blue Ghost with two burning candles on its shoulders and snakes coming out of it appeared.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Tigra said and then a white baby Alien appeared and revealed the top three cards of her deck which were Hide and Seek, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, all going to her hand since they were Darkness cards.

"And now to really screw you over – I cast Rain of Arrows! By is effect you must show me the cards in your hand and discard all Fire and Darkness spells!"

Tigra widened her eyes amazed by Robert's move and then she growled angrily as she revealed the cards in her hand which were Hyperspatial Vice Hole, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Jenny, the Dismantling Doll, Hide and Seek, Hyperspatial Revive Hole and Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons. All cards fell into her graveyard with the exception of Jenny and Zabi Implosion.

"Gravity Zero, I summon Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight!" Robert said and then a Ghost dressed up in a Knightly armor wielding a spear and riding a cloud unicorn appeared behind him. "Also thanks to Batou Shoulder your spells now cost four more to cast. Good luck trying to bring out Volg Thunder!"

"Tsh, I charge mana and end." Tigra said.

"I cast Dark Soul Creation and destroy Bloody Shadow to draw three cards!"

The Knightly Ghost exploded and then the top three cards of Robert's deck flew off of it and landed into his hand.

"Alright, it's time to heat things up a little!" Tigra declared while putting a Darkness card upon her Water card. "I evolve Cebu Aquman Jr into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons! By its effect I put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

The little white Alien morphed into a giant black demonic Alien with three mouths, two for hands and one for a chest. The Alien roared and then a winged red demonic wolf wielding a blue sword and having a blue X scar on its chest appeared in the battle zone and howled majestically.

"Let the Volgasm begin!" Tigra said while pointing at Robert's deck.

One by one the cards from his deck fell into the graveyard, those being DNA Spark, Auzesu, the Demonic Holy Spirit, Mind Reset, Rain of Arrows and Olzekia, General of Decapitation.

"How did you like it?" Tigra stuck her tongue out.

"Meh, The Monk did better." Robert teased her. "Anyway, I summon HEIKE Double Cross, Spirit of Gaga!"

A golden armored angel wielding two shields with spikes on them appeared behind him.

"I evolve Gaga Pikarian into Emperor Cebu Marco X!" Tigra said and then the small white Alien piloting a mini submarine evolved into a giant green Alien with three mouths and a red X instead of eyes. "Heh, I now draw three cards and end."

"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Robert said and then the top two cards of his deck which were Lost Mind Torture and Hanzou, Menacing Phantom landed in his graveyard as he put the Darkness spell into his mana zone and tapped four more cards. "Then I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast!"

A two headed lion that had its left side skeletal and with a black mane and its right side blue and with a white mane appeared in the battle zone and roared at Tigra.

"Think your kitty cat scares me? Check out mine – I summon Cebu Algol, the Electrical Vanguard and with its effect I put Thunder Tiger in the battle zone!" Tigra said and then a black demonic tiger with a white X scar on its chest and two golden rings on its paws appeared in the battle zone and roared back at Robert. "With its effect I destroy your Batou Shoulder! How do you like that?"

"Heh, he was just a stalling creature, I've got other plans." Robert replied with a sly tone in his voice.

"Other plans?"

"Exactly, like this one – I cast Dark Soul Creation and destroy Berlin to draw three cards. Then I evolve Ashliger into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

A golden armored angelic queen with a red cape appeared in the battle zone by Robert's side, its light angering the white haired daughter of Zakira.

"Now with Queen Alcadeias on the field you won't be able to cast any more spells other than multicolored ones!" Robert explained.

"No, but I will be able to do this – Psychic Link, I link awaken Volg Tiger, Thunder Beast!" Tigra said and then the two headed black demonic tiger with pink wings and a pink katana appeared in the battle zone. "My turn, I evolve Cebu Algol into Zabi Implosion, Lord of Demons and put Volg Thunder in the battle zone!"

Another demonic wolf appeared in the battle zone and howled at Robert as the cards from his deck fell into his graveyard, those being Bloody Shadow, Mystic Light Death Knight, Bone Dance Charger, DNA Spark, Rain of Arrows and Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction.

"Perfect, he has just four cards left in that deck of his; three once he draws his next card at the start of his turn. Soon he will be done for." Tigra thought.

"I charge mana and end my turn." Robert said in a nutshell.

"Heh, let's push his buttons a bit." Tigra thought and then she spoke. "I summon Aqua Surfer and send Queen Alcadeias back to your hand!"

A blue surfer appeared in the battle zone and hit the angelic queen with its surfboard making her disappear, the two cards bouncing back into their owner's hand.

Suddenly Robert's hand erupted in a bright stream of yellow and purple energies and then he drew his next card and placed it in the battle zone saying:

"Tigra, your time has come!"

"What the…" the white haired girl mumbled.

"I evolve HEIKE Double Cross into Ballcadeias, Divine Demonic Lord!"

The angel's armor cracked open and out of it emerged a blue-skinned goat demon with three pairs of hands, three pairs of wings, half of which were dark blue and the other half being white came and spread an aura of darkness which enveloped all other creatures destroying them in an instant much to Tigra's shock.

"It can't be…" Tigra barely spoke.

"Oh but it is, the card that you wanted back then for your deck, the card for which you killed my beloved Alexandra." Robert said and then he felt a small tear fall on his right cheek. "Now this will be the card that marks your demise!"

"That Ballcadeias…" Subaru murmured while admiring its glory.

"Is something the matter?" Tiger asked.

"Oh nothing, it's just that for a moment I remembered Kokujo-kun."

Robert gracefully put his hand on the evolution creature multicolored card that belonged to the Light and Darkness civilization, tapping it and giving the order:

"Ballcadeias, triple break her shields!"

Ballcadeias moved its hands until a purple laser ball appeared which it cast upon Tigra destroying three of her shields. Then her turn came and the girl was angered beyond imagination. With one exception all the cards in her hand were spells and Robert's creature did not allow her to cast any spells at all. But that only creature in her hand still meant a chance for her. All she had to do was stall as best as she could so that Robert would draw the last two cards from his deck and lose via deck out.

"I summon Cebu Aquman Jr!" Tigra said and then she revealed the top three cards of her deck which were Ghost Touch, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Aqua Surfer.

It seemed that luck did not favor her at all. All she got was more spells in her hand and the only creature that Aquman revealed was a Water one which went to her graveyard.

"Is something the matter, Tigra?" Robert asked.

"How dare you do this to me, the daughter of Zakira and the leader of THEM?!" the girl asked frustrated that she could not cast any spells that would bring her Volg Thunders out.

"And how dare you break in, ruin my tournament and kill the girl that I loved?!"

"I am the daughter of this world's ruler; I can do whatever I want!"

"If that's the case, then it's time I reunite you and your daddy in the grave – I summon Ashliger, Holy Dark Beast and evolve it into Queen Alcadeias, Holy Gaia!"

The golden armored red caped angelic queen reappeared in the battle zone and then she created a sphere of light with her hands which she cast upon Tigra's last two shields as Robert ordered:

"Queen Alcadeias, break her final shields!"

"Curses!" Tigra spat as she looked at the cards in her hand.

All that she had were spells. There were no Aqua Surfer shield triggers to save her rear and there was also no Falconer, Lightfang Ninja which would block Robert's Ballcadeias. That meant only one thing, she had lost.

Outside, the creatures of THEM had finally set their eyes on the UFO of the chosen duelists. As the army of raging monsters was approaching the lonely vehicle with the unknown Codename Sherlock leading it; Tsugumi, Tamma, Luna, Edo, Rita and Blane sat in front of it ready for an eventual attack. If they would die then and there, they would do it knowing that they had fought.

"Guys, this is it, our final battle…" Tsugumi said while pulling out her Devil Diabolos Zeta card. "Let's make it worthwhile!"

"I agree!" Blane added while pulling out his Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" card.

The menacing shadow of Codename Sherlock fell upon them and the giant Unknown was ready to strike them. Suddenly a spear pierced through the back of its armor and the creature turned around to see a giant Spartan warrior pushing the weapon deeper. It was Greatest Great, Zenith of "Life".

"Huh? What is a Zenith doing here?" Luna asked.

Greatest Great was not the only one that came. Radio Roses, Zenith of "Intelligence" also emerged and fired the cannons from its shoulders upon the Dragons of THEM. Then Suspense, Zenith of "Curse" arose from the ground of the city and spat fires from both its mouths upon the Commands of THEM. Very soon all of their creatures retreated into one crowded spot from the center of the city along with their masters. That was when Wedding, Zenith of "Celebration" descended from the sky with all its might and the chosen duelists saw that the one riding on its right shoulder was none other than Wally.

"Get them!" he ordered.

Wedding spread its arms wide and created a magic circle that descended upon all cornered THEM members and their creatures making them disappear in an instant. Greatest Great, Radio Roses and Suspense disappeared into thin air while Wedding flew over to the chosen duelists and laid down so that Wally could go to them. Afterwards it disappeared as well.

"Wally, that was incredible!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"How did you do that?" Tamma asked.

"All of the THEM members are now gone…" Luna uttered.

"Oh but have no fear, chosen duelists!" Wally assured them while blowing the dust off his suit. "For I and my intuition knew that most of your partners are crappy duelists and that you guys would need my glorious help. But now that only Tigra is left to be dealt with by Subaru, who along with Tsugumi and Luna are probably the only ones worthy enough to be even called chosen duelists; I am sure that THEM will fall until sunrise!"

"He hasn't changed one bit…" Blane remarked and sweated.

"Just who is this freak anyway?" Rita asked.

"Oh he's Wally." Edo answered unaware that a simple name was not enough for the girl.

Back at Tigra's room it seemed that it was over for her. The duel was indeed lost but at least her father would come back to life. She turned back to the portal to see the spirit of Zakira but then she had the shock of seeing that both the portal and the ghost had disappeared. Moreover, the Proof of Duelmaster and the chosen cards were missing too.

"What the…" Tigra mumbled. "But how?"

"Are you looking for these?" Tiger's voice resounded.

Tigra turned her head to the door of the room and there she saw Tiger and Subaru. The naked chosen nature duelist was using Bolshack Cross NEX, Terradragon Diruga Vejida and Crystal Zweilancer to cover his privates while the chosen darkness duelist was holding Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Dorballom, Lord of Demons in his left hand and the Proof in his right hand.

"How on Earth did you…" Tigra barely spoke.

"We took advantage of the fact that you were distracted by Ballcadeias, so I snatched your keys, freed Tiger and then we both took the Proof and cards thus stopping the resurrection of Zakira." Subaru explained proudly.

"All it took was one single moment of you not paying attention." Tiger added.

"Well it looks like it's all over for you, Tigra. Any final words?" Robert asked.

"Please forgive me!" the THEM leader cried out while falling on her knees in front of the three boys. "All of the atrocities that I did… I've done them because of my father. Ever since his death his spirit had haunted me and forced me to do his bidding. That's why I had to kill Alexandra, that's why I had to destroy Nolan's brother and his friends, that's why I had to corrupt Spunky into becoming The Monk, that's why I even had to plan world domination. My father had forced me to do them. I never wanted to kill anyone, honestly! In the end I was just another victim of Zakira's…"

"Heh, nice appeal to our emotions, but it won't work, bitch!" Tiger cruelly replied.

"Yeah, I agree. Robert, finish her off!" Subaru advised his friend.

"No…" he shortly answered.

"What?!" both chosen duelists burst.

"I said no!" Robert insisted and then he turned to them. "Listen you two; don't you have a world to save? Go out there and use the Proof and those chosen cards to stop the THEM invasion!"

"But what about Tigra?" Subaru asked.

"I will take care of Tigra, she is my responsibility!" Robert directly answered. "Now go!"

Subaru and Tiger looked at each other and nodded, and then they turned around and left. Now it was just Robert and Tigra all alone. Obviously the reason why the spiky brown haired man sent his friends away was so that he could spare her life because even after all she did to him he actually felt sorry for her and viewed her as a victim.

"Tigra, I understand what you have gone through." Robert said.

"You do?" she sobbed.

"Yes. I will let you go, but on one condition."

"What is that?"

"Close your THEM organization and donate all of your money to orphans and poor people!"

That demand shocked Tigra to beyond her own limits. Never in her life had she donated to charity and even the thought of helping some unworthy human scum was disgusting her. Also she could never conceive of a life without her precious THEM minions.

"So what do you choose, Tigra?" Robert's voice awoke her from her thoughts.

"Alright, I will do what you have told me." Tigra complied and then she got up from the floor and went to her dueling table to pack her cards.

Robert turned to Ballcadeias and the demon stared at him awaiting the finishing blow order.

"Not today, my friend." he said and the creature nodded to him and vanished.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything, Robert." Tigra said while packing up her cards.

"Oh well Tigra… I expect that you start doing all that I said!"

"Oh but of course!"

The white haired girl reached into the pocket of her armor and pulled out a laser gun which she pointed at her opponent's forehead and said:

"I will actually do something!"

"What the hell?!" Robert exclaimed with fear.

"Men, they are all the same. You come up with an emotional story and they immediately jerk off tears. If you were as smart as those two chosen duelists you might have lived to see the next sunrise!" Tigra spoke with a vile voice.

"Tigra… you're playing with fire… put that gun down!"

"As if I'm that stupid! Once I get rid of you I will take care of those chosen duelists once and for all and then I will get back the Proof and the chosen cards and resurrect my father! Nothing is going to stand in my way!"

"Then… what are you waiting for?" Robert asked while closing his eyes and stretching his arms in the position of the cross awaiting his death.

"Nothing!" Tigra replied while putting her finger on the trigger. "It's over, Robert!"

In the next moment the sound of sharp steel touching flesh resounded. A red sword had come out of Tigra's belly much to her shock. Suddenly she spat blood and felt her body getting weaker and weaker. Then she felt a palm on her back pushing her against the table as the sword left her body through the hole in her back from which it pierced through. The girl gathered all her strength and turned around only to see a red haired samurai dressed in a red suit with yellow flames, a black jacket covering it and a golden mask covering his face.

"You…" Tigra growled and then she fell on the floor while looking up to him with anger in her eyes. "When did you come back? How did you…"

Suddenly Tigra fell silent as a pool of blood formed around her body. It was over, Tigra had died. The samurai sighed and placed his sword into his black sheath.

"All is as it should be." he said and then he turned around and headed to the opened window of the room.

"Wait! Who are you?" the amazed Robert asked.

"A friend." the samurai shortly responded and then he jumped off the window.

Meanwhile as Subaru and Tiger were running down the stairs of the hotel the Proof of Duelmaster suddenly began to shine on its own and freed itself from the chosen darkness duelist's hand. The two boys stopped and looked up at the shining orb of light.

"What's going on here?" Subaru asked.

"The time has come for you my chosen duelists to rise at last!" the Proof spoke.

The gem cast its blue rays upon the two and made them disappear. Outside Tsugumi, Tamma, Luna and Edo also got surrounded by blue lights and disappeared as well. The six chosen duelists were brought into the sky all rounded around the Proof.

"Go, use your power and restore the peace that was promised. The moment for you to rise is now!" the gem said and then its powerful rays offered the chosen duelists to summon creatures instantly without the need for duels or kaijudo energy.

In the next moment Tamma was riding on Bolshack Cross NEX, Tiger on Terradragon Diruga Vejida, Luna and Edo on Crystal Zweilancer, Tsugumi on Alphadios, Lord of Spirits and Subaru on Dorballom, Lord of Demons.

And so they went flying from country to country and they fought alongside the leaders of the civilizations to extinguish the threat of THEM once and for all. The Proof sat in the sky and watched how its chosen duelists were fighting the fierce battle. Then the gem spoke and its voice resounded in the heads of the heroes:

"After millennia of watching and granting wishes I have finally come to use my full power, the power that lies both within me and my chosen cards. Once the battle is over, the power will disperse and thus I will not exist anymore. But fear not, it is all for the greater good. And remember that inside each and every one of you lies the spirit of the Duel Masters. That is why I am leaving a small portion of my power inside a completely new set of chosen cards. With this I bid you farewell, my chosen duelists. No, you are no longer chosen duelists; you are and will always be heroes of this world!"

And thus the Proof dissolved into thin air and what was left of it was a beam of light that spread into many others and flew all over world entering certain cards.

At the UFO Blane and Rita felt the strange power and then they pulled out their decks and browsed them. Blane saw that his Ogre Warrior Kaiser "Win" had its V symbol shining red and same was for Rita's Codeking Ludwig. On the beach, Leona, who was just passing by and had witnessed the ruined city also felt the power. When she browsed through her deck she saw that the V symbol from her Lionel, Zenith of the "Ore" card was shining in white as well. The Lioness smiled evilly at it and then she slid the card back in her deck and walked away. Sitting on the top of the hotel's roof were Raven and Black Widow and one of them felt the power as well. Raven looked through his deck and noticed the V symbol from his Gallows Cebu Kaiser shining with a blue light.

"Heh, the Proof decided to give me some of its power too, huh?" Raven laughed.

"So what are we going to do now?" Black Widow asked.

"We'll still keep an eye on the chosen duelists, just in case."

"I see."

In the darkened alley of the hotel the samurai sat against a wall with his arms crossed and looked at the spectacle of lights from the sky. He then searched his deck and pulled out his Gaial Kaiser and Red ABYTHEN Kaiser to see how both cards had their V symbols shining with bright red lights.

"So in the end the Proof did not forget me…" he said with a rather happy tone in his voice.

As for the chosen duelists, during the battles that their creatures were having they had also felt the power that they received from the Proof and each checked their decks. Tamma's Golden Age Ogremaru "Explosion" had its V symbol shining with a red light, Tiger's Jin, the Ogre Blade ~Crimson Rage~ had its V symbol shine with a green light while his Forever Meteor Kaiser's V symbol shined with a red light, Luna's Intense Boiling! Hot Spring Gallows had its V symbol shined with a blue light, Edo had the disappointment of not receiving any power from the Proof but he was not really disappointed since he had saved his friends and that was what really mattered to him, Tsugumi's Saint Ave Maria, Light Weapon's and Aqua Attack (BAGOOON Panzer)'s V symbols were shining with yellow lights and finally Subaru's Volg Thunder, Victorious Meteor Kaiser and Victorious Gaial Kaiser had their V symbols shine with purple lights. With the distribution being made, the chosen duelists resumed their battle for freeing the world.

Meanwhile at the hotel as the disappointed Walter and Wasp were watching how their organization was falling and peace was being reinstalled upon the world, Honda walked away from the hotel with Snake Tailcoat, Black Demon of Torture behind him holding the dead body of Deta in its hands.

"Mark my words, chosen duelists, this is not the end!" Honda said and then he, his Ghost and the corpse of his friend disappeared in the shadows.

A month and a half had passed since the chosen duelists had successfully defeated THEM and destroyed the evil organization once and for all. Autumn was slowly installing upon the city and it seemed that everything had gotten back to normal. Nolan and Hanna had finally decided to enter in a committed relationship and with the threat of Tigra finally over they left for a long honeymoon at the hot springs to relax. Also having avenged Alexandra, Robert decided to begin a new life. A week after Tigra's death he met a girl called Andrada with which he immediately fell in love and started dating and soon he moved out of the UFO. Knowing that the chosen duelists were alive and well and that she had done a good deed, Rita disappeared back into the Wild West looking for new adventures. Pyro returned to his normal life but with the promise that he would help his new friends whenever needed.

As for our heroes, with the Proof existing no more they were no longer chosen duelists. Thus the team had split up. Tiger chose to pursue his old street lifestyle knowing that the jungle of the city was his true home. Tamma, eager to prove that he would too become a duelist as strong as Rad and Subaru, signed up for dueling tournaments and for the rest of the summer he trained hard with the former chosen darkness duelist to prepare for his new challenge. Luna returned to the Duel Masters school and resumed her research on the creature world and kaijudo duels under the supervision of her new teacher Wally. Subaru, Tsugumi and Edo resumed their ordinary life inside the UFO with Blane the guardian angel still keeping an eye on them.

The night after the fall of THEM however Subaru had called Blane on the beach where they would discuss all alone. Under the starry sky, next to the sea, with their feet into the cold sand and the marine breeze blowing upon them nobody would bother their discussion.

"Well I've come, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Blane asked.

"Tigra had given me all the hints, and now I finally know…" Subaru answered.

Blane fell silent. He turned his face away from the black haired teen.

"He always was there for me; he always helped me when I needed him." Subaru continued and then he approached Blane who was getting more and more nervous. "And then I realized that there was only one person who could have possibly grown in the Fire civilization realm. Yes, with slightly modified genes, it all makes sense!"

"What is it that you want from me?" Blane shortly asked.

"I want to know… why? Why did you hide it from me?"

"Heh, as if you would have believed me – a stranger whose only business was stalking you guys for a long time."

"That's true, I wouldn't have believed you. But were you going to just let our lives pass while keeping the truth hidden from me? Answer that, Blane!"

"Subaru… some things are better left hidden. In our case, things would have been more complicated, that's why I chose to remain silent. Watching you and your friends live the happy life that you desired was more than enough for me."

"And in the end, the truth still chose to come out, regardless of what you wanted. Though to be honest, I'm glad that it turned out that way."

"So what are you gonna do now? Will you tell the others that we're…"

"Nah, if you don't want it then I won't do it."

"Thanks Subaru, it's best this way for the both of us."

"Anytime… brother!"

In the next moment the two hugged each other deeply as if they had been separated for a lifetime.

And now autumn had come. Subaru was sitting all alone on the beach watching the waves move by as the clouds were covering the sun signaling the install of the new season. The black haired teen reflected upon the happenings of the last year, how Tamma, Luna and Tiger had joined the team, how they had journeyed all around the world trying to stop Kaizer and his minions, how they tried to solve the mystery involving The Monk's murders and how they had faced the anti-chosen duelists and Tigra. Yes, another year of their lives had passed and a new one was ahead of them. Who knew what new adventures awaited them. Who knew what new evil would once again rise from the depths of darkness to cast its shadow upon the world. But of one thing he was certain, no matter what; he and his friends would always continue fighting.

"Subaru, lunch is ready!" a feminine voice resounded.

The black haired teen turned around and saw Tsugumi, his love, beautiful as ever wearing a kitchen apron and waiting for him at the entrance of the UFO along with his best friend Edo that was smiling happily and looking ever so carefree. Yes, in the end he realized that it was worth fighting.

"I'm coming, guys!" Subaru smiled to them and rushed towards the ship.

THE END


End file.
